Shadowed Past
by Rhaylt Zheirt
Summary: Where did Shadow come from? Why is being a parent so much harder than being a hero? Do we HAVE to team up with King Bulbin? Is Lord Vaati evil or just insane? Find out this and more in Shadowed Past! (Post TP, OoT, and MM, all-in-one universe, with nods to the other games. It's a mashup Batman!)
1. Prologue

Hyrule Castle stood nestled in the hills, it's tallest spire barely peaking over the tallest hill. It wasn't a very strategic spot, but, then, that was the point. The King of Hyrule had wanted to place a city in the center of Hyrule. One that was accessible to all races. He did not want a fortress, but someplace open that any and all could come to and feel welcome.

And a fortress it wasn't. Not only was the building nonstrategic, the Hylian Militia had merely been a casual job for people with no military training since the First Great War. Occasionally there was a murder or some such crime, or a juicy robbery plot, but usually the most you had to deal with were a few teenagers in the daytime rowdily protesting cucco slavery, or stray dogs at night stealing pies. These were obviously dealt with using words, and "dealt with" is probably too strong of a statement. Guards certainly had spears in the recent past, but they were more of a symbol than an actual tool to uphold the law, and now they had been abandoned completely.

Especially since the Hero of Time, Link, had become Captain of the Guard over a decade ago, mandatory suits of armor and sparkling spears had become a memory. A hot, heavy, sweaty, and distant memory. The most the guards wore to prove their station was a mantle about their shoulders the color of their rank and a special, metal badge—which wasn't too difficult to forge because no one had tried to do so yet.

All of these things Shad thought as he related the weekly report to Link on their way to Castle Town, the bubbling town within which Hyrule Castle resided. Shad was impressed by and possibly unbelieving of the great improvements to life in Hyrule since Link had become part of it. He was so involved that he didn't know why it wasn't HIM on the throne next to Zelda, instead of . . .

 _That Shadow fellow_ , he thought bitterly.

Of course, the fifth-hand rumor was that Link had been the one to refuse a relationship, not Zelda. _Idiot_. This reaction, Shad knew, was because he was one of the few who actually believed Zelda could rule alone, and it was irritating hearing people speak as if Link were king.

Or worse, as if _Shadow_ were king.

Comparing the born princess to the farm-boy Hero, it was easy to see why the common people trusted Link more than their own princess, no matter her triumphs in the past. They just didn't want to think that a Royal could possibly be of any greater use to society than they were!

Those people had not been around when Shadow appeared. Despite not trusting the princess consort, he couldn't deny that Shadow had a direct influence on Hyrule. Link resided at Lon Lon Ranch with his wife, Malon, and only came to the castle once a fortnight or so. In the meantime, it was Shadow who dealt with domestic and military affairs. Shadow had come up with over a hundred little things to improve on Link's guard design. He was incredibly focused on details. He provided education to new recruits and expected all guards to have good communication skills, and focused on this rather than military experience as a trait of hiring. No longer were the so-called dregs of society thrown into the Guard as a last resort to control them. Those dregs were shaped into respectable persons through education, and Shadow kept the others in strict order. People were more likely to obey the law when the police were their friends, respectable people, and police were less likely to abuse power against friends and neighbors—or in the face of strict punishment. If there was one thing to be said about Shadow, it was that he was positive, but very intimidating. There were so many applicants to Shadow's Royal Guard that Shadow had initiated a school of thought for those that passed but did not fit. Shad attributed the sudden influx of interested parties to Shadow's relatability with the lowest of the low, the worst of the worst, the most _evil_ of the—

—Shad stopped himself. It would be unwise to let his thoughts run wild about the princess consort of Hyrule. He might actually _say_ something to somebody. He chose to return to thinking about the princess.

The princess . . . he was fond of her, to be sure. Unlike many Hylians, he'd had a close-up look to the princess' childhood. He had seen her expertise in ruling when she became queen at the mere age of seventeen. He had watched her poise during the Twilight Era, and during the Conflict that came a few years later.

He also knew that behind that poise was a confused, terrified woman, insecure and self-critical, and most of all depressed and tired from countless sleepless nights.

That was the Zelda of the past, anyway. No one had been able to gain her trust, to break past the mental wall of stone, to reassure her successfully, to comfort her completely after one of her many prophetic nightmares.

Despite Shad's misgivings, despite everything in his body rejecting the idea of it, he watched Zelda's anxieties fall away to nothing the first time he saw her with Shadow after the Conflict. She had perfect faith in him. Shad couldn't deny it, but that didn't mean he had to _like_ it. With the Princess of Destiny happy, the people of Hyrule didn't have to worry. They figured as long as Shadow was around, life was good.

They may have compassion on Shadow NOW, but what about before? When Shadow had been under Ganon's control? When he captured Hyrule Castle, had the princess under house arrest, and put the city into a spiral of darkness? Sure, he ended up betraying Ganon and setting the princess free. Sure he was the reason Ganon had been forever locked into the Sacred Realm, this time for centuries? If not for Shadow, Ganon never would have escaped to begin with. How did the relationship between Zelda and Shadow evolve from such horror to . . . "love?" Others didn't remember the angry, violent Shadow that Shad and the Resistance Fighters had fought against. Shad would always distrust the man.

Well, somebody had to. Link and Zelda were completely taken with the Shadow King.

The drawbridge into Castle Town came into sight over the next rise. The sun was just beginning to set, but they were expected, and so the guards waited for them to enter the city before pulling up the drawbridge for the night. There were not so many monsters on the field anymore to bother the city at night, but old habits die hard.

"Heeeeeeeeey!" a voice called to them just as the drawbridge shut behind them. The Mailman came running up to them across the cobblestones. Shad's heart lifted a little, but he was quick to mask it by slumping in his seat atop the horse and fixing his glasses. _It might not be for me_.

It was. The mailman, dutiful as always, jogged up to Shad's horse and held out an envelope. It was a creamy color with vines decorating it—an obvious Ordonian letter. Link glanced at the scholar as Shad quickly grabbed the letter and spoke quickly, "Yes, thank you, you can go, please don't—"

"It's from Ilia," the mailman announced dutifully, "the Mayor of Ordon's daughter!"

Shad's face reddened. He ducked his head and avoided Link's face. _I didn't expect THIS to be how he found out!_

"Well," said the mailman, "my business is concluded. GoodbYYYYEEEEE!" And he jogged away.

"Shad," Link began suspiciously.

"Tally ho! We're late!" Shad shouted, spurring his horse into a canter and speeding across the drawbridge.


	2. Chapter 1

"Mommy, tell me a story?"

The little fingers grabbed at her skirt, and Zelda carefully sat in a rocking chair by the fire and pulled the little one onto her knee. "Well, Zelly, your Uncle Link is coming, how about a story about him?"

Zelly snuggled onto her mother's round belly, just checking to see if the baby was kicking. It wasn't. She shook her head. "No. About Daddy."

Zelda chuckled softly. "Very well." How happy she was, sitting here in a warm room, in a comfortable chair, with her daughter and child-to-be with her. It was probably best she didn't speak of Link anyways. Even though she had her own beautiful children, she was still jealous of him and his abundant family. Her courtship with Shadow had taken nearly a decade, and now she was almost past her motherhood window—for her lineage, anyway. Bearing children was never easy for the women in the Royal Family. Her own mother had died of a failed pregnancy when she was just a girl. Link and Malon, on the other hand, had been able to marry right away, and already had five children, all healthy.

 _I just need my baby to be born healthy, that's all_.

She pushed the irksome feelings away and focused on her daughter. "Once upon a time," Zelda began with a twinkle in her eye. "There was a princess."

"A _beautiful_ princess," a deep voice broke in. Zelda followed it to the doorway. Shadow stood leaning against the door frame, arms folded. His ruby eyes glittered, and they still made her heart flutter.

" _Daddy!_ " Zelly shouted and crawled off Zelda's lap to run into her father's arms. Shadow swooped her up and planted a big kiss on her cheek. "Hello, little princess."

"Hi, Daddy . . ." Zelly snuggled against her father's warm chest and buried her face in his neck.

Zelda knew it was silly, but she worried about the time when Zelly would come to question her father's leaden appearance, or the fact that she shared his eyes. She was able to protect Zelly from distrustful bystanders for now, but that would not always be the case. It hurt to think that Zelly may have to deal with the same naysayers as Zelda had growing up. Zelda feared it would be worse for Zelly. Hyrule had never had a king such as this. Shadow wasn't just different, his body wouldn't stop _changing_.

In the beginning, he was a life-size version of the Hero's shadow, but with physical dimensions. Over time, Shadow had begun to look less like the Hero's shadow, and more human in coloring. His face was still a dusky grey, but there was a reddish-brownness to it. Not the color of the Gerudo, whose skin were bronzed by the sun, but still dark, and red—Shadow had been quite proud of it, actually.

"I'm finally a person!" he'd say, and Zelda's skin would crawl at the implication that Shadow wasn't a person beforehand. Zelda wasn't sure where the color came from—she'd never seen anyone in Hyrule with it. His hair had become more substantial out of shadows and turned into a thick mop of black, wavy hair to rival even Link's.

It was not just his coloring, even his structure was beginning to change, becoming more solid, his face more square, his chin less pointed, his hands broader. The most curious thing was his ears. His ears were round. Link's were pointed, and very hard to miss because like all Hylians, they were huge. More than once Zelda would look at Shadow and wonder, who was this person and where had he come from?

Whatever the changes, she hoped his eyes would at least stay the same.

Some said in horror that those eyes were the color of blood and terror, but Zelda saw passion there, love for her and their children, their country, their people. She had watched those eyes deepen as she guided a younger, lost Shadow through the experiences of human emotion as he shifted from shadow to human. Now they were the eyes of the man she loved.

Shadow rocked his daughter with a curious expression. As he had said on many occasions before, " _This_ is how most Hylians become adults? Starting out so tiny?"

Zelda smiled, as always. "Yes, my love, not everyone is born a shadow man."

Zelly piped up sleepily, "A _boo-tee-ful_ shadshoo maaaaan."

"Why thank, you, Zelly," Shadow said in a sweet voice. Zelly simply grinned back, but she was obviously struggling to keep her eyes open.

Zelda watched her husband's face with concern. She could see the underlying thoughts flitting across his face. Shadow could not remember anything before becoming the Hero's shadow, and it was getting harder for him to remember what being a shadow was even _like_. More often than not he gave her a blank expression when she asked about his time as a shadow. Would he continue to forget things until he couldn't even remember _her?_

"Are you _sure_ you don't have a past?" Zelda asked, not for the first time.

Shadow's face darkened more. He lowered the sleeping Zelly onto her little bed and tucked her in with her favorite princess doll. "I doubt it. I'm not a person, Zel, I don't have a past. Something happened and I got a soul, that's all. I'm just a creation of Ganondorf's the goddesses had pity on."

"Only a _person_ can have children, Shadow. And many do not tuck them in as gently as you do. How can you not be a person?"

Shadow brushed his daughter's hair behind her ear, face dulled.

Zelda sighed into the ensuing silence.

Shadow glanced up, looking slightly guilty. As Zelly had fully fallen asleep, he stood and then knelt before Zelda, taking her hands in both of his, looking her in the eyes with adoration. "Oh, Zelda, my love, who needs a past when I've got such a wonderful present? Please don't worry."

Zelda's face softened, and she put a hand through his hair, admiring each and every strand. "So you're fine, then?"

Shadow nodded. "Very much so."

"Well," Zelda said softly. "You will always be a person to me, Shad."

"And I will always love you for it." He got up slightly so he could kiss her. Then he helped her up, and they walked out the door quietly, leaving Zelly to her nap.


	3. Chapter 2

The door to Telma's bar opened and shut quickly. "Dear Din, he's going to kill me!" Shad had left his horse at the castle gates and fled the scene before Link and others could catch up. Even as he spoke, a grin broke across his face as he held the slightly crumpled letter in his hand. He stumbled blindly to a table as he pulled his father's dagger from his bag and ripped the letter open.

"What do you have, there, peach?" Telma called from the bar with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, please!" came the automatic, breathless reply. Shad had been here many times before and was expecting to be asked if he wanted his usual meal.

Telma rolled her eyes with a sly grin. "Alright then."

Shad unfolded the letter, unable to stop his heart from pounding.

 _Dearest Shad,_

Well, that worked. His heart stopped working momentarily, and he clutched the letter to himself briefly. He heard footsteps, and suddenly set the letter down, setting his elbow on the table and hiding his face behind a hand as he pretended to read the letter with a serious expression. Telma set down a jug of Lon Lon Milk and a ham and bacon sandwich. Shad refused to look at her, but grumbled his thanks. Telma walked off, shaking her head in amusement and chuckling in her melodic way.

 _Dearest Shad,_

 _How are you? Oh, what a silly way to begin a letter! But I do hope you're doing well. Father has me learning all the ropes of being the Mayor, it's exhausting! He wants me to make a visit to the castle in his stead at the beginning of the month._

 _What will Epona do while I'm gone, though? The poor dear is getting old, after all. She's not able to jump the Ordon Bridge fence anymore, so I have to let her in each night before I go to bed. Do you think she'd mind being stuck on the fields for as long as I am in Castle Town? Perhaps I can convince her to let me ride her, and she can come with me . . . but she only ever will let Link ride her!_

 _I'm concerned about my father's aging as well. I really don't like to leave home. I thought, maybe I can send Talo instead? Oh, but Beth's baby is due anytime, I couldn't ask that of him . . ._

 _All these mayoral decisions are such a bother, Shad! It's worse that I have to do them alone . . ._

Shad's breath caught, and a lump filled his throat.

 _I guess I will just have to bite the bit and go myself . . . I haven't been to the city in a long time. I'm afraid I'll get lost! Castle Town does not have very many good memories for me. Oh Shad, before I forget! I finished reading your book. It was lovely! My father keeps asking about it, though, and I fear for your books safety in his hands. He means well, I promise, he really does admire you. You should come to get it soon! Although, if you're nearby, maybe I can drop it off to you on my way to Castle Town. I would like to see you._

He stopped breathing, in addition to his heart stopping. Perhaps his father was right, and love turned you into a corpse. He forced air into his lungs so he could puff out his chest resolutely, and he and thought in defiance, what a wonderful way to die! Did she want him to escort her through Castle Town? Certainly he could. He knew the city like the back of his hand—knew Hyrule like the back of his hand, let's be honest! He coughed self-consciously and finished the letter.

 _I hope this letter finds you well, Shad._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Ilia_

Shad let out a satisfied breath.

A voice over his shoulder startled him. "You nearby Ordon these days, darling?"

"T-Telma!" Shad crushed the letter to his chest. "I object to your invasion of my personal space!"

Telma laughed. "You, boy, are going to need help if you're going to impress _that_ one." The large, impressive woman sat at the edge of the table and folded her arms. "So, are you going to go?"

"What? To Ordon? Certainly not! It's all the way on the other side of the map, it would be silly to go all the way out there when I'm already here. I'll see her soon enough. She's coming, isn't she?"

"Mm-hm?"

"S-she's probably almost here already anyways. What if I miss her on the road? Then I wouldn't see her at all."

Telma lowered her eyelids half way, a dangerous look.

 _Right_ , Shad thought, gulping uncomfortably, _I know better than anyone that Ilia would stay on the main road. She's not a distractable, risk-taking, round-about adventurer like Link_. _And I DO want to see her._ He stuffed the letter into his vest's inside pocket and stood up. "I should leave right away!"

"Good boy . . ." Telma quipped. The bar's door closing behind Shad was all the response she got. She glanced at the table. "Oh boy," she said thoughtfully as she looked at the untouched sandwich. "He's got it bad for that girl."

"Who, Shad? Shad has a girlfriend?"

Telma looked behind her and found herself eye-level with Rusl's son. "Colin! When did you come in? Why, haven't you gotten big!"

Colin grinned and spoke quickly. "Dad let me come along this time. Said it was time I take on some responsibilities for Hyrule. Have you seen Link?"

"No, I haven't."

"Well, if Shad's here, then Link is, too. Bye Telma. I'm going to find him!"

And before Telma could blink, Colin left the same way Shad had.

-Then came back. He pointed to Shad's abandoned sandwich. "Can I have that?"

Telma laughed and nodded. "I'll put it on your dad's tab."

Colin stuffed it in his mouth and left.

-And came back again. "Can I have _that?_ " He pointed at the mug of milk.

Telma frowned at him sternly. " _No_."

Colin giggled. "Just checking!"

* * *

A deep, rich voice floated across the castle corral. The castle horses had ceased eating, pawing, and neighing to listen, ears perked toward the fence. As for Epona the Second, the singing was barely calming her enough to keep her from kicking the gates down. She did not like being confined within fences. The other horses from Lon Lon Ranch eyed her anxiously. The young horse was used to getting her way. Usually the other horses stepped in line behind her, figuring she was the strongest of the herd. But now everyone was going away from her, and making her stay in this stupid corral. Malon directed her voice at Epona, singing Epona's favorite song. Like her mother before her, Epona's wild heart could not be tamed, but it could be befriended. If Malon sang long enough, Epona would get the idea that she'd be released eventually and was in no danger.

Finally Epona approached Malon and lowered her head and decided to taste the grass of Hyrule Castle. "Phew!" Malon breathed. "You're tougher than my youngins', girl." She patted the horse's neck, and Epona nickered.

"Malon!"

She turned and found a _very_ pregnant Zelda coming toward her. "Well hey there, sister! You look ready to pop!" The last bit was stated sympathetically.

"I am," Zelda replied, stopping next to Malon and putting her hands on her aching lower back. "I'm about ready to evict her, I think."

"Overstayed her welcome, I see. And is that right, it's going to be a girl?"

"I can feel it," Zelda said with a smile, stroking her belly.

Malon shook her head. "Wish I could do that. Be nice to know if I was expectin' a rowdy boy or a rowdy girl."

"In your case it doesn't really matter, does it?" Zelda asked with a grin.

"Nope. They either wild like their daddy or wild like their momma, no in-between. Papa just don't know what to do with 'em sometimes." She giggled. "Jus' yesterday, Papa found Russ with a fishin' pole on the barn roof, wavin' a carrot in front of the foals and makin' 'em jump for it!"

Zelda laughed, cautiously. Anything could stir up trouble, and she didn't feel like dashing to the outhouse. "How are the others?"

"Melody's doing fine, although she's at that age when she's gotten hot-headed like me with my own Papa. Link is a little hurt, being as she was daddy's little girl, but he's managed."

"Poor Link," Zelda chuckled, imagining the Hero with a sad, disappointed look on his face—what a rare expression for him. "I wonder if Zelly will be like that with her father when she's older."

Malon shrugged. "Dunno, but you know she still loves her daddy, just shows it differently, that's all. I doubt my Saria will ever get like that, though. She just doesn't get confrontational unless there's something she wants, and she'd as soon be nice to get you to give it to her as fight for it. As for Tatl and Tael . . . they're inseparable, as always."

"And how has Link been?"

"Oh, he's been great. Always comes home grumpy when he spends too much time in the city, haha! No offense. He's as bad as Epona."

"I never could seem to keep him indoors, no matter the business."

"What do you expect? He grew up in a forest in a treehouse like all Ordonians." Malon stretched her arms. "Ah! I'm excited for the kids. They've never been to a festival in the city before."

"I'll probably be on bed rest," Zelda said gloomily, leaning against the fence and putting her chin on a hand.

Malon laughed. "Aw, don't worry, hon, I'll keep you company!"

Zelda brightened visibly. "You sure you won't mind?"

"Of course not! Besides, Link'll want to have alone time with the kids. No doubt he'll have them traipsing along like little heroes, and I'd just as soon sit down instead!"

They linked arms and watched the horses while they chatted.

* * *

Shad walked along the castle corridor and was surprised to see Dark Link standing ahead, looking curiously at a patch of deep shadow in a corner, hands on his hips and head tilted. He wore a spacious midnight blue tunic today, with a black, mid-length cape.

Shad watched him for a moment. Dark Link scratched his head, and Shad adjusted his glasses and stepped forward. "Ahem . . . what's on your mind, sir?"

"I can't . . . I don't know how I used to travel through shadows."

"You mean shadow melding?"

Dark gave Shad a quizzical look. "What?"

"Uh . . . you know, when you melt into a shadow and then randomly pop up in another shadow a mile away?"

"Oh. Did you make up that name? Shadow melding?"

"Yes," Shad answered hesitantly.

Dark smirked. "You are such a _nerd_."

Shad didn't know whether to be offended or proud.


	4. Chapter 3

"KIYA!" Link's yell reverberated across the courtyard as he landed his sword against the scarecrow's head. Zelda and Malon gave supportive claps as straw filled the air. Link put one hand on his hip and the blunt edge of his sword on his shoulder and grinned at Malon. "Still got it, honey!"

A red-headed boy about ten jumped into the air. "Yay, go papa!"

A girl a few years older groaned loudly and covered her ears. "Not so LOUD, Russ! WE'RE RIGHT HERE!"

"Come on, Melody, I want papa to hear!"

"Papa smash the care crow," a toddler responded politely next to them, pointing at Link. She then stared gloomily at the scarecrow's remains. "Poor care crow."

Another toddler took her hand gently. "Want make all better, Tatl? Come wif Tael. Tael help." He led her across the yard, and they began gathering up the straw.

"Saria!" Melody yelled. "Stop playing that stupid thing and get over here!"

Saria ignored her older sister, continuing to play on the old ocarina her father had given her. "Tu tu tu! Tu tu tu!" she played the ocarina. Supposedly it was a gift from her namesake. You'd think something from the sages would be easier to play and sound a LOT better.

Saria flipped her hair over her shoulder and stuck her nose in the air. Saria was the only one with blond hair like her father, and she flaunted it on every occasion. Melody got her hair from her mother, and flaunted it as well. As for Zelly, she stood and stared long and hard at Melody's long, thick, wavy red hair, and kept hopping to try to catch some and rub it with her fingers. Russ' hair also took after his mother's. Tatl and Tael got their dark brown hair from their grandpa Talon.

"Hey! Kids, get along now or Mama's gonna have a cow!" Malon yelled, and Zelda tried not to laugh as she covered her own ears.

"That okay," Tael said excitedly, "Always want baby sister cow!" No matter what you did, Tael was on your side. He ran up to his mother. "You have baby cow, mama?"

Malon sniggered, but tried to hide it. "Maybe when we get home, Tael."

The joy in Tael's eyes was a sight to behold.

New voices reached Zelda's ears, and she turned to find Shad and her husband walking into the courtyard from the castle, speaking animatedly together.

"There you are, Dark!" Link exclaimed. "What took you so long? Our kids are already playing together!"

"Link!" Shadow said, walking up to the Hero quickly. "Did you know, Shad's got some _fascinating_ theories on shadow melding!"

"Shadow melding?" Link asked.

"Oh, you know, that thing where I zip from one shadow to another miles away?"

Link slowly nodded as the scholar joined them. Then he felt a tiny tug on his left boot. He looked down into the pearly eyes of Tatl. "Well hello, little princess, what's on your mind?"

Tatl held the tattered remains of the scarecrow's head, and some straw. "Papa fix the care crow," she said in a _very_ upset voice.

"You want me to fix the scarecrow? Did hitting the scarecrow make you sad?"

Tatl gave him the poutiest of faces, the scrunchiest of eyebrows, the glassiest of eyeballs. "YES."

Link picked her up. "Oh, alright. Papa will not hit the scarecrow again. Okay?"

She held out the scarecrow's massacred face. "Care crow?"

"I'll fix him a bit later, don't worry. He's just taking a nice nap and won't feel a thing."

Tatl grinned, and Link set her down and the little girl went running to her mother.

"She's talking a lot more," Shadow noted.

"Yeah, she's gotten very good at expressing her _feelings_ ," Link emphasized the word, showing on his face he wasn't sure what to do with them. "You keep thinking you'll get better at this parenting thing . . ."

"It's all fun and games until daddy hits a scarecrow," Shad said teasingly.

"You're one to talk," Link commented. "Colin told me you rode all the way to Ordon—"

"Oh for goodness sake, I did not! I met her halfway there!"

"But you WOULD have gone all the way to Ordon?" Link raised an eyebrow.

The Hero antagonized the poor scholar with a devilishly amused face. Shadow himself was confused at the speech. Shad and Link spoke to each other like they'd known each other for a long time, and considered each other equals. Shadow would have happily gone "all the way to Ordon" for Zelda. "Why don't you just tell Ilia you love her already?" He interrupted bluntly.

Shad turned a bright shade of red, and Link burst out laughing. "What?" Shadow asked, confused. "Is it really that complicated?"

"Your majesty!" Shad complained. He removed his spectacles and began cleaning them furiously with a handkerchief. "There are _rules_ of courtship, and certainly it is too early for me to be saying anything _that_ drastic!"

Shadow shook his head. "Link," he said, with sudden purpose. "I've been meaning to ask. It's been a while since we sparred. Could we have a go?"

Link wiped the laughter tears out of his eyes, glancing up in surprise. "Well, sure! But I won't go easy on you just because you're the king now."

"CONSORT!" Zelda shouted.

Shadow grinned, then waved his sword at Link pointedly. "If you go easy on me . . . I'll kill you."

Link smiled back wryly. "Well, then, have at thee!"

* * *

The children were seated carefully out of reach of the fence surrounding the sparring square. They sat eating Deku seeds, and Malon was sitting with her back to the castle wall, stealing a nap. Shad kept the princess company while they watched Link and Shadow circle each other, swords drawn.

Shadow feinted first, and Link fell for it, as usual. But also as usual, Link recovered easily, having put enough momentum into his swing to carry him into a block as Shadow rolled and came from behind.

Zelda fanned herself. Watching the boys fight was tiresome since they were so equally matched. It was like watching a chess game where all that were left were the two king pieces in a unending stalemate. But she knew eventually Link would win, as he always did against Shadow. It was destiny showing itself. The Hero was never meant to be defeated by the sword.

This didn't seem to make Shadow stop trying, and his swings became faster, fiercer, and soon, rash. Zelda only watched vaguely until Shad suddenly shouted, "Easy, your majesty! It's just a play match, not an actual battle!"

Shadow was frustrated. Why did Link look so calm?! Already Shadow could feel his own limbs shaking from exertion, his lungs unable to get enough air, his throat hoarse. And yet Link stood there calmly, with that determined look on his face, barely even breaking a sweat. That confident, holier-than-thou look that Shadow had long ago learned to fear—and hate. He had no reason to feel those things now, since they were allies, but feel them he did. Link was so . . . _pompous_ , Shadow thought, wondering darkly if Link was holding back. The thought made Shadow's skin itch and burn. He was the Hero's shadow, why couldn't he be an equal, GREATER?!

Again, he charged at Link, this time fueled with anger. He heard Shad call out to him, but he ignored it, casting blow after blow at the Hero of Time, and was blocked every time. Finally, and Shadow saw it as it happened, Link exploited an opening, tangling his sword in Shadow's, twisting, and ripping the tool out of Shadow's grip and making him stumble and fall to his knees in the dust. His sword landed dully on the ground next to him.

"Whoo! Go papa!" Russ yelled, and Shad whistled loudly. Melody looked bored, and Saria wasn't watching.

"Yaaay papa win!" Tatl clapped her hands, and Tael spun in joyous circles.

Zelda could feel the dark spirit emanating from Shadow, and she stood as quickly as she could and began walking toward the combatants. "Shad!"

Link had sheathed his sword. "Good match, Shadow. Let's do it again soon, eh?"

Shad stared at his hands, shaking. Zelda's dress came into his vision, and soon the princess had knelt in front of him and took his hands. "Shadow, are you alright?"

"I . . ." Shadow began. "I can't beat him."

"Well of course not, no one can."

"But I'm his _shadow_. The hero's _shadow_. Oughtn't I be able to be as . . . good as him?"

"What do you mean?"

"If I can't beat him, then . . ." he pulled his hands from Zelda's grip suddenly, "I really am just a _shadow_."

"Oh, no, no, darling . . ." Zelda reached out to him again.

"Shadow," Link called, who had walked up when Shadow remained kneeling. "Are you al-"

" **GRAAAAAAAAAGH!** " Shadow threw himself at Link, knocking the wind out of him and sending them both to the ground. They scuffled, Link trying to push Shadow off of him, but Shadow grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the earth. " **WHY CAN'T YOU JUST SHUT UP?!** "

"Shadow, get off me!"

" **WHO ARE YOU TO BE BETTER THAN ME?** "

"Calm down!"

"SHADOW!" Zelda's voice was rough, frightened. Shadow, still gripping Link, spun and turned his angry gaze on Zelda, who raised a trembling finger. "Shadow," she said, "Look at yourself."

Anger turning to chilling uncertainty, Shadow dropped his gaze to his clenched fists.

They were shapeless, black. He stood and stumbled backwards away from Link, looking over himself in shock. He resembled a shadow again, and not just a little. There was no color, no lines or even fingernails, just a smooth black surface. Fear overtook him. He tried to grab his arms, his stomach, his head. Nothing. No feeling. No touch. No taste. No smell. His fingers clutched at the nothingness of his hair and his ghostly frame crumbled as he screamed. His entire form melted into tendrils of shadow, which fled to the dark corners of the courtyard and disappeared.

Zelda watched him go in some shock. Link got up and dusted himself off. The spectacle had caused much confusion in the watchers.

"Where Daddy go?!" a panicked Zelly was screaming over and over. Russ seemed to think it was a cool prank. The others were just confused. Thankfully, it didn't take long to calm the children down. For several minutes Zelly wouldn't let her mother go anywhere without her, in case she disappeared, but finally she let Malon take her to the nursery so Zelda could go find Shadow.

Link stopped her by taking her arm before she could go. "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?"

"Please, Link," Zelda said for the fifth time in the last ten minutes, "He's my husband. I haven't seen him this way in years . . . I know where he's gone, and we need to be alone."

Link nodded reluctantly and let go. Shad, who stood nearby, seemed equally reluctant, and asked,"Are you _sure_?"

Zelda sighed. " _Yes_. And before you get any ideas . . ." A flash of magic appeared in her hand, and she flourished it in an infinity symbol about her, and she was gone.


	5. Chapter 4

She teleported inside the castle, but couldn't manage any further. "Oof!" She almost fell over when she felt stone under her feet after the quick trip. She'd have to walk the rest of the way. The dungeons were easy enough to get to—Hyrule Castle's dungeon was not very large or used anyways—but Zelda still found herself pausing every few minutes to catch her breath. "Phew!" She patted her belly. "A few more weeks. That's all."

There were no windows in the dungeon, but Zelda's magic provided enough light. This was lucky since she didn't think carrying a torch would be doable for her. That teleport spell had taken it out of her!

When she reached the end of the hall, she shivered involuntarily. It wasn't that cold, but this part of the castle had been closed off for good reason. There were three cages ahead of her. Two were closed, rusted shut, but the third's gate had been bent as if by an impossible force and partially ripped off its hinges. Zelda had never bothered to have it fixed. For a moment she remembered being in that cell, and how not Link, but Shadow had destroyed that gate, to let her out. She remembered the look on his face still, the anger and self hatred, the same he had exhibited today. She walked into the cell and surveyed the shadows, feeling like she was being watched. She held her light into the corners, sending some of the shadows away. "Come out, Shadow. It's me."

Reluctance. She felt it. But then shadows converged on a spot against the wall, and Shadow appeared, sitting with his back to the wall. She was pleased, and then confused, to see he was back to his more human-like form. Did that mean he had calmed down already?

"I got angry," Shadow stated. "I exploded." He sounded shocked. Zelda didn't like it. Usually Shadow knew when he was angry. It didn't come as a surprise.

She crouched and sat in front of him. "Yes. Do you know why that is?"

" _No_. I mean, I promised I wouldn't . . . not in front of Zelly." He dropped his face into shaking palms. Zelda scooted closer so she could put her arms around Shadow and cradle his head against her shoulder.

"It's just that," Shadow began. Zelda loosened her hold and Shadow lifted his head. "I just hated him so much."

"Who?"

"Link."

Zelda's eyebrows furrowed. "But you _don't_ hate him. You haven't for years. You only ever hated him because Ganondorf cursed you to."

"Yes, but in that moment, everything got cloudy. I couldn't tell where I was anymore. It was like . . . being back in Ganon's control and hating _everything_." He forced a laugh. "But it's not like Ganon's back, right? S-so what's wrong with me?"

It felt suddenly much colder to Zelda. "Maybe it was just a fluke," she suggested.

"Huh . . . how is Zelly?"

"Upset that her daddy disappeared. She asked if you died."

Shadow grimaced. "I'd better apologize."

"That would be nice."

* * *

"Hiiiiiiiii," Melody said in a sing-songy way as she rocked on her heels and batted her big brown eyes at Colin.

Colin was too busy trying to keep up with Tatl and Tael to feel more than a little discomfort. _Well_ , he thought. _At least I don't have to ever wonder where SHE is_. It was always wherever he was, a few feet away, staring at him dreamily. Russ was always in the penalty corner if he wasn't off terrorizing animals somewhere. As for Tatl and Tael, they were big enough to carry and keep from going where they shouldn't, but that didn't make handling them any easier.

"AUGH!" Colin yelled, a giggling Tatl and Tael playing patty-cake as they hung from his arms like potato sacks. "Melody, couldn't you . . ." The girl giggled at him. "Never mind." _Come on, Colin, be like Link. He took care of all you village kids for HOURS_.

"TEACH ME HOW TO SWORD PLAY!" Russ yelled, running out of the penalty corner and tackling Colin from behind. "I GOT YOU! EN GARDE!"

"ACK! RUSS!" Colin cried out as he and the three children fell in a heap.

"You're on my _head_ ," Tatl complained.

Tael giggled. "You made Tael eat dirt." His expression suddenly changed. He spat. "Yuck!"

"RUSS!" Melody yelled dramatically. "GET OFF OF HIM!" She ran over and started tugging harshly on Russ' ears.

Colin felt Russ knee him in the back as he tried to get away from his sister. When he finally managed to get up again, Colin made a note to tell his mother again that combing hair was _pointless_ and why couldn't he just run around with tangled hair like Link all the time?

Although, thinking of his mother gave him an idea.

"RUSS! You, here! Melody, here! Both of you, hold Tatl and Tael! Now, we are going to the nursery!" Obediently enough, the children trailed through the halls of the castle next to Colin. _I'm going to remember that!_ Colin thought. Apparently moms knew what they were doing with their voices. Maybe if the kids were in one room he could keep them all in one piece. They reached the nursery and Colin happily opened the door. But as the kids trailed in, he counted four heads . . . then groaned. " _Saria_. Kids, stay in there, okay? I have to find Saria!" And he shut the door after them and ran down the hall.

The children didn't answer. Zelly and Shadow were already in the nursery. Zelly was sitting in Shadow's lap, and Shadow had been playing with finger puppets. "Um . . ." he uttered. Then smiled as big as he could. "Hi kids!"

Russ ran up to him. "TEACH ME HOW TO DO THAT!"

Tatl pointed a tiny finger at him. "Inside voice."

"No, Russ, I can't teach you that," Shadow answered. "I don't want to actually DO that, ever again."

"Aw, why not?"

"And why were you so MAD at Papa, anyway?" Melody demanded snottily. "He's better than YOU."

"Hi evee-body," interrupted Zelly. "Daddy has had a VERY bad day, but Mommy says he's okay now."

"Thank you, Zelly." He looked at the others apologetically. "Kids, I'm really s—"

"SHH!" Zelly put her hand over Shadow's mouth and squished his lips to the side. "Shhhhhhhhh. You're the _tiger_ , remember? Tigers don't talk."

"He not tigow, no stwipes!" Tatl noted.

"I GOT THE STWIPES!" Tael had successfully opened a can of orange paint and gotten it all over his hands. He ran up to Shadow and planted two messy handprints on his knees. "Now he tigow, WAAAAAAAAAAW!"

"Doze is spots!" Tatl exclaimed.

Russ stared oddly at Shadow, who stared back with some trepidation. Then Russ brushed one finger on Tael's hand and dragged it across Shadow's cheek, leaving a long, thick line like warrior paint. " _Awesome_ ," Russ said about his handiwork.

Melody began laughing her head off.

"ROAR DADDY!" Zelly yelled.

Shadow bared his teeth and growled.

The children screamed and all of them jumped away from Shadow and ran to the other side of the room, laughing once they got there.

Shadow stood up. "RAAAAAAR!"

An ear-splitting scream reached them, but it came from outside the nursery. The kids looked around, confused since the person didn't sound like they were having fun. "That was Saria!" Russ realized.

"Stay in here," Shadow told them, and hurried into the hall. He looked left first.

A few yards from the door, Saria stood over an unconscious Colin, staring past the nursery door and down the hall.

"Saria!" Shadow rushed her way, but the little girl gestured behind him frantically, blubbering something.

"There—There—There was a man!"

Shadow spun, but the hall was empty except for them and the other children peeking through the nursery door.

"He was r-right there!"

Shadow scanned both ends of the hallway but found no one. Footsteps sounded at one end, and guards appeared, alerted by Saria's scream. "Men, search that way!" Shadow pointed in the direction Saria had pointed.

"NO!" Saria yelled as the guards ran off. "H-h-he could be ANYWHERE! He DISAPPEARED!"

Another two guards knelt by Colin. "Saria," said Shadow, "I need you to go into the nursery and stay with your brothers and sisters, okay?"

"NO! NO NO NO!" She leapt away from his reaching hands and ran around the guards.

"SARIA!" Shadow ran after her, yelling behind him, "Guard the nursery!"

"SIR!" came a panicked reply. Shadow skidded to a halt and looked back. The guards and Colin were motionless. And gray. " _What?_ " Shadow ran back to them, unable to believe his eyes.

The guards and Colin, they were all turned to stone. Heart pounding, Shadow ran to the nursery door, and found four stony faces looking out from the crack. _No . . ._

Four faces. Where was Zelly?! As he tried to find a way to enter the nursery without harming the other children in the doorway, an ominous voice spoke up behind him,

"I knew this wasn't a job for junior."

A creature with a hideous, toothy grin stood there, head tilted to the side. He wore a gold crown that extended into two tall horns. His face reminded Shadow of a bloodthirsty weasel, with white skin and black angled pits for eyes. Tiny red irises leered at Shadow from within them. He took two steps toward Shadow, a large black cloak materializing out of the darkness. Impossibly long, shin-length hair, dark purple, moved about his body like wind as he stepped. "My question is," he said, brandishing a sharp-nailed finger at Shadow. "Why haven't _you_ turned to stone? Everyone else has!"

His voice was like slimy silk, and his words made Shadow's spirit churn. "Who are you?" Shadow snapped. "What have you done? . . . Change them back!"

"My _other_ question," the intruder continued as if Shadow had not spoken, "Who to take, the mother . . . or the _child?_ " He waved a hand, and suddenly Zelly was there at his feet. One quick look told Shadow that she, too, had been turned to stone.

Shadow's heart was in his throat. "ZELLY!" He felt his anger returning. He charged at the figure. "CHANGE HER BACK!"

" _Hahahaha!_ " The air around the figure distorted and began to shine. Both the figure and Zelly began to disappear into the air.

Shadow recognized the spell. _I must do it, once more_. He let his anger consume him and leapt toward the spot the two had disappeared. His shadow form latched onto the tendrils of the spell and dragged him along, away from the castle and into a dark, shadowy space.

The weasel man was ahead, floating in the nothingness, Zelly in his arms. He was looking at Shadow with a confounded look. "Hm! You followed me! . . . Now how did you do that?"

Shadow took control of every shadow in the space and launched them at the man as he also dove toward him.

The man screamed, summoning a spell, and the shadows and magic fought with each other, blinding them both. Shadow reached for where he remembered Zelly was. He collided with something, and everything turned white.

Shadow curled into a ball and waited for the dimensional winds to pass.

As soon as they did, he opened his eyes. At first he thought he magic had not left yet . . . but then he realized he was in a canyon, and it was blisteringly hot, and the moving lines were the waves of heat, not magic.

He sat up and looked at what he had managed to grab off the sorcerer from before. He stared at the golden hair for several seconds in shock. Then he pushed them out of the way to find a sweet little face. "Zelly?! Oh dear Goddesses, thank you!" He hugged Zelly to himself. "Zelly? Zelly, are you alright?"


	6. Chapter 5

Zelda awoke out of a groggy sleep. She was lying on her bed. _That's right, I . . . took a nap_. She sat up and was surprised when the room nearly spun in a circle in her vision. Waiting a moment before standing completely, she called, "Shadow?"

When no one answered her, she cautiously walked to the bedroom door and went out into the hall. _Why is it so quiet?_ She was uneasy, and it wasn't just her queasy stomach. She came across two guards, who were in as groggy a state as she was. _What . . . happened?_ These guards couldn't answer her question, so she moved on. Everyone in the castle she met was in the same state. No one had seen Link, Malon, or the children.

Finally she reached the nursery hallway. The scene was alarming. There were four guards, as dazed as all the others, but on the ground was Colin, not moving. By the nursery door stood Link, looking less dazed than everyone else, but still visibly shaken. His children were sat against the wall near him, and he knelt by them, looking over each one. "Link! What's going on?"

"I don't know, princess. We all woke up at the same time, and all these guards remember is Shadow sending them after some 'man' Saria saw."

"Shadow? Is he here?"

"No."

"What about Zelly?" Zelda's hand clutched at her heart. "This is where they were last."

Link shook his head empathetically, the same pain in his eyes. "Do you know where Saria is?"

Zelda shook her head. She walked to the guards who were now helping Colin stand. "Guards, as soon as you can, join the search parties, check every house in town. Make sure the people are safe, and for goodness sake, find our children!"

Link, Zelda, Malon, Colin, and Shad stood around the war table in the castle's great room.

"No one has a clue what happened. It's like they literally just vanished," Link was saying. "No footprints, no trails, nobody saw anyone suspicious go in or out of town."

"Is it possible that Shadow took Zelly?" Shad suggested, then quickly added, "To protect her, I mean."

"Then why hasn't he come back?" Zelda questioned.

"Maybe he was injured," Colin suggested.

"Regardless," Link interjected, "I think we have to conclude that this was a magic break in."

"A magic _kidnapping_ ," Malon corrected bitterly. The ranch girl was barely holding it together, being somewhere between rage and despair.

Shad pursed his lips. "I don't want to break any sensitivities here, but isn't it _possible_ that Shadow simply snapped?" He was glad he prepared himself. The icy look Zelda gave him was one that could have started wars. "Princess, you _must_ consider the possibility!"

Zelda was considering. "Shadow told me earlier, after the incident in the courtyard, that it was like he was being controlled by Ganon again."

Shad's eyes bulged out of his sockets, exaggerated by his spectacles. "And you mention this NOW?!"

"Shad!" Link uttered sharply. "There's no way Ganon has returned." He looked at the birthmark on his left hand, two perfect triangles with one triangle balanced on top. The mark of the Goddesses. "I would have felt it. And Princess, you haven't been haven't any prophetic nightmares lately."

Zelda placed a finger on her chin. "That's . . . not entirely true."

Now it was Link's turn to gape, although there was no judgment in his. Just surprise.

The princess straightened herself and coughed self-consciously. "In my current physical state, it can be confusing which dreams are . . . _prophetic_ and which are . . . the baby's. It's not like Zelly, who has my prophetic gift. This baby's dreams are just dreams, but I experience them anyway, and also just regular dreams and nightmares from being pregnant."

"Shouldn't you have told the council about the dreams anyway?" Link asked.

"YOU try getting pregnant and having several hormone-induced nightmares a night and see how YOU do at remembering them!"

"Are there any you DO remember, Zelda?" Malon asked, desperately.

Zelda closed her eyes and concentrated, rubbing her temples. "Oh, it makes me so queasy just thinking about it . . . there was one dream. It was about Shadow. He somehow became . . . lost to me." A tear began to trail down her cheek. "There was a dark haze that swallowed him up, and soon it had swallowed all of Hyrule . . . but many of my nightmares are about Shadow disappearing in some way, or dying, or going back to his old ways. I've learned to ignore them. I guess looking back, this one seemed . . . perhaps different. But I can't be sure."

"A dark _haze?_ What . . ." Shad changed his tone to a less incredulous one. "What are we supposed to gather from that?"

"Haze . . . or . . . _wind_. It was wind. A dark, evil wind. Shad, go to the library and look up any legends about wind, people or places. I will study the Book of Mudora and the Temple of Time's holy books. Also . . . lapses of time and sleeping spells. Study all of it!"

"Right O!" Having something productive to do that he was good at, Shad couldn't wait to be out of there. He was always uncomfortable speaking to the princess on somewhat equal terms, but at the same time didn't know when to keep his stupid mouth shut.

"Link, can you check the castle for any magical activity?"

Link nodded. "I'll use the Master Sword. It was quite responsive down by the nursery. Colin, you can help me." They left together.

Malon walked up to Zelda, handkerchief still held up to her swollen, tear-stained cheek. "What can I do?"

Zelda studied her friend, then put a hand on her arm and smiled reassuringly. "I think you'd better call on your father to take the children back to the ranch. They'll be safer there than here, don't you think?"

Malon considered, then nodded. "But what about Saria?" she sobbed.

"Link will do _everything_ possible to find her. And so will I."

Malon took a deep breath. "Alright." She wiped her eyes one final time and took in a few more breaths. "Gotta look good for the kiddos!" She put her arms firmly at her side. "Once I send them off, I'll be back."

"We could desperately use your help."

* * *

Shad had only been in the library for half an hour, and already there were stacks of books circling round his seat on the ground. He heard a knock on a bookshelf and lifted his head out of the large tome he'd been studying. "Ilia!" he greeted. "How nice to see—um—um . . . who's watching the children."

Ilia's green eyes smiled. "Malon came to get them. I guess they're going back to the ranch."

"You're not going back to Ordon already, certainly?"

Ilia knelt in front of him and shook her head. "Nope," she said with a chuckle.

She had such a calm way about her, Shad couldn't help but think. Nothing was startling about her, and that's something he liked about her. A small smile graced his lips as he relaxed.

"Malon told me a little of what was going on," Ilia said. "What are you looking for?"

"Any stories about wind mages, or temples. I can't seem to find anything relevant, though."

"We have a story in Ordon."

"Oh, really?" Shad asked with interest, closing his book and leaning forward.

Ilia nodded. "It's the legend of the Picori—tiny little people who make people's good wishes come true. There's a legend that they live in Faron woods, next to Ordon Village. Only children can see them, which is why they go undetected."

"Do they control the wind?"

"Not exactly. You see, there was one Minnish, named Vaati, and his heart was full of fascination for all kinds of evil. He envied this evil, and he used a powerful wish to make himself the most formidable wind sorcerer history has ever known. The Minnish knew this couldn't be, so they found a hero among Hylian children who believed in them, and with his help they sealed Vaati away inside a sword deep in the forest."

"Wow . . . would you know it, I have _never_ heard that story before!"

Ilia giggled. "Well of course you haven't! It's only a silly country story, after all," she teased.

Shad blushed. "I wonder if there's anything in HERE about the Minnish. Perhaps under a different name?" He pulled a large encyclopedia of Ordon from the middle of a stack of books, and the rest of the books went tumbling down with loud thumps. Shad cringed. Then he turned to Ilia with his heart fluttering (he scolded himself—what a terrible time to be so happy!), and said, "Would you like to help me look?"

"Of course!"


	7. Chapter 6

Zelly's two eyelids slowly opened and looked at him, and he could have shouted for joy, but he didn't want to startle her. Zelly's brow furrowed, and she frowned, much like her mother did. " _Daddy_?" she said uncertainly.

"Yes, it's me, sweetheart. I'm here, you're safe!"

"You look . . . different."

"Huh?"

She patted his face. "You're all . . . _brighter-er_. Daddy, are you going to turn light like Mommy?" She sounded disappointed.

Shadow tried to figure out what she meant as she touched his head and hair and face. Then she scrunched her nose and pulled her hands away. "EEEEEEEW! Daddy, are you a fish now? You're all slimy! That's gross!"

Shadow wiped his face with a hand and looked at it curiously. _Sweat?_ Then he stared at his hand. Then brought it closer to his face and turned it around.

Lines. Fingernails, VEINS . . . _fingerprints!_

He clenched his fist and his knuckles lightened. He set Zelly on her feet (she was glad to get away from sweaty daddy!), and stood to look himself over. His skin was almost the color of red clay. It seemed far too red to his eyes that were accustomed to dusky skin, and it wasn't a reflection from the crag-covered land around him. He crouched to Zelly's level. "My eyes! What color are they?"

Zelly blinked, then put two fingers on her cheeks, pointing to her own eyes. "They're red like mine, Daddy."

She straightened and fussed with his hair. "And my hair?"

"It's still black. You're like that red Goron that gave me candy at my birthday party last year. But he had white hair."

Shadow would have kept trying to puzzle it out, but his black clothes were becoming _stifling_. He shielded his eyes and looked up at the huge sun.

"Are we in the desert, Daddy?"

It didn't look like the Gerudo Desert. "I think so . . ." _It's going to be hours before nightfall, and we don't have any water._ Shadow took off his cape and outer tunic and cap. He discarded the latter two, and used the cape to make a makeshift shield for Zelly from the sun. He held it over her head as they walked.

"It's _hot_ ," Zelly expressed with gumption after only five minutes.

 _If this is Gerudo Desert, we shouldn't be too far from the fortress._ "Just a little longer, honey."

However, after fifteen minutes of wandering around cliffs, there was no fortress, and he couldn't hear the sound of Gerudo River at all, despite the windless day. He recognized nothing. _Where are we?_

"Daaaaaddyyyyyyyyyyy . . ."

Shadow picked her up and carried her. She didn't seem to mind his sweat-soaked clothes any longer.

When searching found no fortress or any structure anywhere, Shadow began to look for places he and Zelly could hide until the sun went down. And yet, he doubted he would last very long even then. "Zelly, listen to me. Even if Daddy falls down, I want you to keep walking, okay? . . . Zelly?"

"HALT!" There was a shuffling noise, and a shadow in front of him, onto which a slender, cloaked figure landed in a crouch. In a moment the figure stood and pointed a flashing sword at Shadow's face. "What are you doing wandering this desert?" It was a firm, feminine voice. Her brown cloak was ragged at the edges, and dusty, and a hood and mask covered her face, letting only her eyes be seen.

The voice was unmistakable, and those blue eyes he'd know anywhere. " _Zelda?!_ "

The eyes squinted. "My name is not _Zelda._ " She proffered her other arm. "Give me the child."

"What? Why?!" Shadow held Zelly closer to himself.

"Hand her over _now_ and I will spare your life!"

" _Please!_ I think she's sick, she won't wake up."

The sword wavered. The woman nodded her head to her left. "This way."

Shadow wasn't sure he could trust this woman but he didn't know what else to do. He walked in the direction she indicated, aware that the sword tip was still aimed in his direction. As they got closer to the cliff face, he realized that a small section of it was not in fact rock, but cloth painted to blend in. The woman drew the cloth aside with her sword and ushered them both in.

It was a small room carved out of the cliff side. In the back a small cavity had been dug out of the floor, and a small trickle of water fell from the ceiling and into it. Shadow hurried to it and set Zelly down next to it. He brushed her hair out of her face and dipped his other hand into the pool.

The water was cool. He did his best to get some into Zelly's mouth and tried to cool her off by wetting her face. He felt cold steel on his neck again.

"Get away," the woman said. She was holding a pack of some kind. Shadow backed away on his knees. The woman sheathed her sword and knelt down. She picked Zelly up.

"Wait, what are you—"

She set Zelly into the pool of water, clothes and all, putting her head on the side to keep it out of the water. She then splashed water all over Zelly's head and face, wetting her hair completely. She continued to do this while she struck up conversation. "Trying to give her water already. Idiot."

Shadow didn't know how to take the insult. Instead, he simply said, "Thank you for helping us."

"I am not doing this for you. Where did you come by this child?"

"She's . . . she's my daughter."

The woman suddenly stopped to glare at him. "You expect me to believe she's _yours_?Do you think _I_ am an idiot?"

"Uh . . ." Shadow looked at Zelly, then at himself. They did look completely different.

The woman left Zelly's side to draw her sword again. "What are you Ikanan scum planning? What could you possibly want with a town girl?"

Shadow raised his hands and backed off, but not far as he hit the side of the small room. "I . . . what? Who ARE you?!"

"Who is SHE?"

"She is my _daughter_. Her name is Zelly. I'm Shadow."

Zelly gave a tiny moan. The woman gave Shadow a warning glare and returned to Zelly's side. She inspected Zelly's face, and Zelly's eyes opened momentarily. Some surprise crossed the woman's face. Her voice considerably calmed down as she said, "She has your eyes." She chose now to take off her hood and pull her mask underneath her chin. Now that he could see her properly, Shadow found that although she shared Zelda's structure and eye color exactly, the similarities ended there, from the way she carried herself to her facial expression. Her skin was as dark as Shadow's, and her hair was a rich brown.

Shadow breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes. She gets everything else from her mother, though!" He attempted a chuckled.

Now the woman stared at him strangely. "Where do you come from, 'Shadow'?"

"Uh, Hyrule?"

She shook her head. "Never heard of it."

"Please, I have no idea where we are. We've . . . been on a long trip."

"Why on earth did you come here?"

How would he explain this in non-shadow dimension terms? "We were being chased, and I just sort of went in the direction that would get us away . . . and here's where we ended up."

Her sword was resting against her knee, a much more relaxed hold. "Either you are _lying_ and this is an elaborate trick of Igos du Ikana's . . . or, you might be telling the truth."

"Did you say Ikana?"

"Yes. Have you heard of it?"

"Yeah . . . long ago. Are we in . . . Termina?"

She nodded. "How do you know of it?"

Termina. Link had traveled there years ago, before he had married Malon. Of course, HE had fallen through a hole in a tree and ended up there magically. Shadow had gotten there magically as well, it seemed. He remembered Link had mentioned that Termina was an alternate universe to Hyrule, and that most Terminians were exact twin versions of Hylians. But they all had different names.

"A friend of mine came here once. His name is Link, have you heard of him?"

Again, she shook her head. "Such strange names . . ."

"May I have yours?"

She didn't answer immediately, but to Shadow it seemed not to be because she was reluctant to tell him, but because she seemed out of practice introducing herself. "Sashira," she said, emphasizing the first syllable. "Of the Garo," she added hurriedly.

"Sashira. It's nice to meet you, Sashira." Shadow remembered that the Garo were a lost tribe of ninjas in Ikana Valley who had been the sworn enemies of the Ikana kingdom. "Why did you think I was under the orders of Ikana?"

Sashira blinked. "You look like them. The Ikanans."

"I do?" What was this, another trick of the Goddesses? Why did he suddenly look like this race from another dimension? Why couldn't he just look as he always had and STOP changing?!

"Yes, your hair, your skin, your eyes . . . your face. When your daughter wakes up . . . I can lead you out of Garo country tonight, but if you get caught by my kin there is little I can do for you."

"You can't explain this to them?"

"They are . . . difficult to convince, to say the least. You will need a disguise. I will return for you at sunset."

Zelly woke up about an hour after Sashira left. Sashira had told him how to care for her while she was gone. "Is it bath time?" she had asked first, not fully conscious.

"Uh, yeah, it's bath time. After she had awaken more fully, he pulled her out of the pool and wrapped her in his cape. For a moment, Shadow considered making a run for it and hoping for the best, but he realized he still had no idea where to go. So he decided to wait.

As she promised, Sashira came for them at sunset. "This is my father's mask. It will allow you to see the pathways of the Garo without trouble." It didn't look any different from her own mask and outfit, he thought as he put them on. She pulled the hood down over his face. "Don't let anyone see your eyes." She had also brought a sling for Shadow to carry Zelly in, and a small Garo cloak for her as well. "The same goes for her. We should leave now. Perhaps we can reach the edge of the territory before the others have awakened."

"Why are you helping us? If your people are so against it?"

Sashira paused at the entry and looked back. "My father . . . is a very tolerant man." She left.

Shadow followed her, Zelly situated comfortably against his chest.


	8. Chapter 7

Months earlier . . .

Castle Town market square was busy as ever, people selling, buying, moving, bartering. Saria was here with Grandpa, who was selling milk. Saria had no interest in selling milk, so she had wandered to the center of the square, where she sat at the fountain. The noise of the fountain helped her to drown out the rest of the market. She had carried a flower with her from the field, which she occasionally dipped the stem of into the fountain. Kneeling down, with her elbows on the side of the fountain, she dropped her flower and watched it float and spin, distorting her reflection even more than the ripples.

She sighed and looked across the fountain. There was someone standing on the other side, she could see through the fountain's spray. It looked like a young boy, very tall. To others he would have seemed strange, with chin-length lavender hair and almost silver skin. He wore a lavender tunic and purple cap, and, of all things, bright red knee-length poofy pants and red sandals. He was looking right at her, so she waved. He immediately turned around, looking behind him, as if looking for who she _really_ waved at. When he slowly turned back, Saria stared at him with an expectant expression.

He pointed at himself.

Saria nodded.

He straightened in some surprise, and Saria crossed her eyebrows. The boy started glancing around skittishly instead of coming over, so Saria stood up and walked around the fountain to him instead.

"Ah!" the boy exclaimed when he realized she was right next to him.

"Hello," said Saria.

"You can't see me!" he replied, taking two steps back.

"Uh . . . yes, I can. My name's Saria."

"Oh. Um. Uh. This is bad. Um. My name's Vaati—I MEAN, um . . . I have to go!"

He disappeared. Into thin air. Instead of being surprised at this, Saria shrugged her shoulders and returned to her side of the fountain, watching her flower spin.

* * *

It wasn't until a few weeks later that she saw the boy again. This time it was at the castle, during a visit with Aunt Zelda and Uncle Shadow. She didn't question how he got in the castle. Saria was very sensitive to non-material things. She figured Vaati was a ghost. She saw ghosts sometimes. But it was strange that she saw him first at the fountain and now in the castle—and he was watching them all from an out-of-the-way hallway. Assuming the others couldn't see him, as usual with these things, Saria carefully stepped around the room out of his sight until she reached the hallway. She jumped out in front of him. "BOO!"

"AAH!" and he disappeared again.

"Saria, what are you looking at?" Aunt Zelda called. Saria gave a long-suffering sigh and didn't answer.

Nobody understood her.

That whole visit, she kept finding Vaati watching them shyly, and he kept trying more and more obscure hiding places, but Saria always found him eventually. On her most recent try, he was hiding under a table. Saria bent down and yelled quickly, "I JUST WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND!"

Vaati jumped in surprise, smacking his head on the bottom of the table. "Ow!" He held his head, dazed. Saria took it as an opportunity. She sat down next to him and pretended to place a hand on his arm—you couldn't touch a ghost, but they appreciated the attempt anyway. However, her hand met cloth, and she was surprised to find he was _not_ a ghost after all. "I'm sorry," she said, "But you kept running away and I just want to talk to you."

"Oh, I can't!" Vaati cried. "I'll get in trouble again."

"Why?"

He was still rubbing his head. "Grandpa doesn't like me getting side-tracked."

"Side-tracked from what?"

"Oh . . . nothing. I should go—"

"Wait! What's your favorite color?"

Vaati paused. "My favorite . . . color?"

"Yeah."

"Um . . . red."

"Is that why you wear red sandals?"

A bit of color reached Vaati's cheeks. "Yes . . ."

"I knew it! My favorite color is green—but not papa's green. I like forest green."

"Is that why you're wearing that dress?"

Saria grinned. "Yep! It's my favorite color!"

Vaati smiled shyly. Then his breath caught. "I should really go."

"Okay," Saria said reluctantly. "Will I see you again soon?"

"Yes . . . Don't tell anyone about me?"

"Don't worry. They wouldn't understand me anyway!" She rolled her eyes exasperatedly.

* * *

Vaati began to visit Saria quite often. He began to get very talkative. Well, sorta. He was timid, and always seemed to have his head lowered and shoulders hunched, as if he expected danger around every corner. Saria introduced him to her other "friends," the spirits she spoke to, the fairies she'd met. Her parents believed her well enough when she spoke of these things, but if she spoke to much they started to get worried and she had started to feel they might think she was crazy. So she had closed up. Vaati, however, seemed to understand her completely, even going so far as to greet each one of her friends. He could even see some of them. When he couldn't, he would have conversations with them through Saria, who would translate.

"You're really special, Saria," Vaati said one night as they sat outside under the stars.

She shrugged. "Oh. I dunno."

"Well I like you a lot."

She pulled her knees to her chest and giggled. "I like you, too, Vaati!"

His brow furrowed in a worried way.

"What's wrong, Vaati?"

"It's just . . ." he glanced at the farmhouse where her family slept. He was quiet for a long time. "Never mind. Saria?"

"Yeah?"

He seemed really nervous. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Um . . . your father's the Hero of Time, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, do you know . . . which one of you gets to be the Hero next?"

"What do you mean?"

Vaati's eyes darted everywhere. "You know, who inherited the hero-ness, if anybody? Who gets the Master Sword after Link dies?"

Saria began to get a weird feeling. "Why are you asking these questions?" she asked quietly.

"N-no reason!" Vaati waved his hands and then closed in on himself. "I'm just . . . curious. I'm sorry. Just forget I asked."

"Well, I don't know if anybody inherited it, anyway." She sat back on her hands. "I guess it would be Melody since she's the oldest. I can't really see her as a hero, though."

Vaati giggled in response. "The Hero of Whine."

Saria giggled, too. "Stop, she's my sister! You're really funny, Vaati—"

He grinned, then his face changed. "OH NO!"

He disappeared.

Saria blinked in confusion.

* * *

Saria didn't see Vaati for a week after that. When she did, he seemed very sad and subdued. There was a dark mark on one cheek, and Saria asked, "Where did that come from?"

Vaati covered the mark with a hand, and said, "Nowhere. I mean . . . we can't be friends anymore."

"Why?!"

"Because . . ." a conflict of emotions flashed across his face. Suddenly it split into a huge, desperate smile. "Never mind! I was just in a really bad mood!" His voice trembled. "I don't want to stop being friends."

Saria took his hand and began leading him to the windmill at the end of the corral. "I don't want to stop being friends, either."

They sat in the windmill and played tic-tac-toe and other games that Saria had stashed in there. After a few games of hopscotch, they sat down cross-legged to play marbles. "Laruto wants to play, too, is that okay?" Saria asked.

"Yeah."

Vaati went first, Saria second, and then Laruto. The marbles appeared to move by themselves on Laruto's turn, but Saria knew there was somebody making them move.

"Why do you think the sages talk to you?" Vaati asked.

She shrugged. "I dunno. Because I was named after one, I guess."

"Can't you ask them?"

"Sometimes they don't answer." Her mouth became a straight line. "Or they just grin."

This made Vaati laugh.

"Hey Vaati, how come sometimes I catch you watching my family? Why were you watching them to begin with?"

"I . . ." He clenched his fists. He seemed unable to speak, and his head lowered.

"Vaati?" Saria asked. She felt weird again. "Are you alright?"

A sob. Then another.

Saria stood up and quickly went to Vaati's side. "What's wrong?"

"Don't get near me!" Vaati pleaded, scooting away from her. "I'm bad. I'm a bad person."

"What do you mean? You're not a bad person."

"Yes I am. That's why we can't be friends!" He stood up, tears flowing down his face.

"You're not BAD. You don't FEEL bad!" Saria complained, grabbing his arm as he tried to step even further away. It was true. If he were evil, she would know it. She always did. Right?

"Please let go," he said. She did. He wiped his eyes, but it didn't help. "I don't know what's going on, but I don't want to hurt you. Goodbye, Saria."

"No, wait!" She reached for him, but not quick enough. She sat on the ground, pulling her knees up, and began to cry.

* * *

She didn't want to go to the castle. It had only been one day since Vaati had said goodbye. She had never felt so disconnected from her family. They didn't even know about Vaati. He had seemed awfully scared, and she still didn't know why he had been watching her family, or asking weird questions. She was irritable all day, during the trip, at the castle, playing her ocarina . . . she finally decided she had better tell her father about Vaati—well, she had to tell _somebody._ She didn't want to get into trouble, or worse, be called crazy. Maybe she would talk to Aunt Zelda. She had prophetic dreams, maybe she would understand. That's why she wasn't in the courtyard after Uncle Shadow blew up and Colin was babysitting. She was looking for Aunt Zelda.

The castle corridors were dark and cool, a relief from the hot courtyard.

"Saria?" Colin had appeared around a corner and came up to her. "Where've you been? I've been looking everywhere!"

"I'm looking for Aunt Zelda."

"I think she's still talking to Shadow."

"Oh."

"Why don't you come to the nursery until she's finished?"

"Can't I just be by myself?"

"I don't know. The adults seem kind of worried about something, I don't know what."

"Huh." Saria followed him.

She ran from Uncle Shadow, still terrified of the pale-faced sorcerer that had appeared and disappeared in the hallway. That man. _That man!_ The waves of dangerous energy that flowed off of him had sent her into full panic.

It didn't help that he looked like an older version of Vaati. He felt so different from her friend . . . something appeared in front of her and she crashed into it. The whole world spun and she closed her eyes on instinct.

When she opened them again, she found she had crashed into none other than Vaati, and everything around her had changed.

She was no longer at Hyrule Castle. The stones were much darker here. "Vaati! What's going on?!"

Vaati had his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry! He wanted me to turn you to stone! I HAD to save you!"

"Who? Who wanted you to turn me to stone?"

"My father. I couldn't take you anywhere else, they only let me go from here to the castle. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to kidnap you!"

" _Kidnap_ me? Where am I?"

Vaati took a breath to steady his voice. "Your in my grandpa's castle. You're in the Sacred Realm."

Saria's eyes widened. " _WHAT?!_ "

Vaati let go of her and covered his face. "I know! I'm sorry!"

"Take me back!"

"I can't!"

"Why not?!"

"Because you won't be safe there!"

"But your grandpa's a jerk! I'm not safe HERE! It feels REALLY REALLY BAD here, Vaati!"

"Why do you think I had to save you? It's BAD here. I didn't want to be here anymore! But grandpa banned me from talking to you, so I disobeyed, and then he _punished_ me, and . . . then—then I overheard him and Father talking and they were going to turn everyone in Hyrule Castle to stone, even you."

Saria's stomach plummeted. "What do you mean . . . _everyone_ in Hyrule Castle?"

Vaati stood with his eyes scrunched shut, swallowing continuously. "I mean . . . you can't go back . . . because everyone at Hyrule Castle will by now be turned to stone."

Saria was speechless. Everyone turned to stone?! Papa, Mama, Uncle Shadow, Aunt Zelda, her brothers and sisters, Zelly . . . all the guards, Miss Impa, that weird Shad guy? Suddenly she yelled, "Why didn't you warn me sooner? This is all your fault!"

"I didn't know they were going to turn everyone to stone! They just had me asking questions and spying!"

Disgust filled Saria. "I HATE you, Vaati! I HATE you!" She ran away from him.

"Stop! You'll get caught! You can't go anywhere, remember?!"

Vaati chased after her. They went through many hallways and rooms big and small, everything was bare except for a few sconces holding bright yellow torches, and occasionally a broken desk of drawers. For all Vaati's talk about getting "caught," there didn't seem to actually _be_ anyone in the castle.

Until suddenly there was.

That man with the weasel face, the one who attacked Colin, appeared in the air with a startled cry, and fell down on his back on the hard, stone ground. Saria jumped behind a dilapidated desk. Vaati soon followed, then paused. "Uh, h-hi, Father."

The sorcerer sat up with a wince.

"Where's the princess?" Vaati asked in an innocent voice, purposely standing as far away from Saria's hiding place as possible.

The older man rubbed his head. "Hello Junior!" His voice was deeper than Vaati's, and held none of the shyness. "I _told_ Dad this wasn't a job for you, and I was right!"

"Why? What happened?"

"Shadow Link happened, that's what!" Vaati's father stood up, his clothes magically straightening themselves. "He somehow managed to follow me, then he grabbed the princess right out of my arms and _ran_. No idea where."

Vaati looked relieved.

"VAATI!"

Both Vaati and his father looked at where the voice came from and responded, "Yes?"

The darkest presence of all came into the room from a hallway. Saria stamped down every tiny bit of her that had any sort of Light at all, glad she had taken those lessons from Aunt Zelda. The newcomer was not like the other two at all. He made Vaati's dad feel almost . . . neutral. Where the Vaati's were slim and skinny, this man was large and brutish, with short black hair hugging his head, and a round, mean face and gray skin. He wore a simple black tunic and pants and a black armored vest. Somehow the simplicity of it made him seem even more sinister. All he had for decoration were aged silver spikes, four on each shoulder. He walked up to Vaati Junior, who shrank just a tad. Saria shook her head. She would have been running!

"You disobeyed," the new man said in a menacing voice, his mouth curled in a snarl. " _Again_."

"Now, _Dad_ ," said the older Vaati, stepping between the two. "I _told_ you this would happen, and look what happened to _me_ ," he said in a melodramatic tone, "I was attacked _very viciously_ and I lost the princess. You can't blame Junior for being _scared._ "

That must mean that the scary new man was Vaati's grandpa, the one he said punished him. He growled into the older Vaati's face. "He wasn't _scared_ , he was WEAK!" He pushed older Vaati aside and bore down on Vaati Junior. "Who did you go see?"

"Go see?" Vaati's father repeated.

"Yes," Grandpa responded. "I only gave him ONE teleportation spell to get him to Hyrule Castle and back for the mission, and he's used it."

Vaati Junior began to slowly shrink away.

Exactly the opposite of Grandpa, Vaati's father became quite interested and asked curiously, "Who DID you go see?"

Vaati bit his lower lip. Grandpa growled again. "He went to save that _girl_." His arm rose and swiped down, but Vaati somehow magically zipped a few feet away.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" Grandpa demanded, striding forward and grabbing Vaati by the collar with both hands. He was so much bigger than Vaati. There was no need for such force. Saria made herself as small as she could.

"I couldn't get to her in time," Vaati lied, and put on a pretty convincing upset face. Not like it would be hard. Everything about this scene made Saria upset, too. "She's turned to stone like all the others, Grandpa Bellum."

Grandpa froze for a second and then let go of Vaati.

"Oh, _poor boy_ ," Vaati's father exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air and walking over to Vaati. He pulled Vaati into a giant hug. "Young love, _shattered_." He trailed a pointed finger delicately down Vaati's cheek. "But you know, guess what! Good news, when I was attacked by that Shadow guy, somehow I lost control of the stone spell."

Saria's ears perked up. Vaati's face cleared a little. "You mean . . . everyone at Hyrule Castle is . . . okay?"

Vaati's father grinned. "Yep! You got your way, Junior! For today."

Saria covered her mouth to keep from crying out in happiness.

Grandpa Bellum put his hands on his hips. "This is a mess. Did we get _anything_ from this?"

Vaati's father released him from the hug and flourished a hand. "Well, from what I can tell, that Shadow man was able to do magic, but he wasn't very coordinated. I don't know exactly where he _went_ , but he's not in Hyrule, and since _he_ was the one causing all our difficulties, all we have to do now is . . . try again! The Shadow has Zelly, but we still have the queen."

"Good," Grandpa Bellum noted. "We may be able to salvage this quest and get me out of here _yet_." He turned on Vaati once more. "And when I do, the _first_ thing I'm going to do is hunt down that little _witch_ of yours and DESTROY HER!"

Vaati ran at his grandfather in rage, but Vaati Senior grabbed him and held him back. "LEAVE HER ALONE!" Vaati struggled to get free, to just get in _one hit._ Just one. "Why can't you just leave her be?!"

Grandpa Bellum just growled at him, taunting him by stepping closer.

"Now, now, Junior, this is NOT how we behave! Don't make your grandpa mad!" Vaati's father said before Vaati finally broke free.

"I HATE you, Grandpa Bellum! I HATE you!" He zipped away magically as fast as he could before Grandpa Bellum reached him, and suddenly Saria felt very alone.

Vaati Senior watched the boy go with a displeased expression. He turned to Bellum. "Now," he said, voice deadpan. "Was that _really_ necessary?"

"Do you _really_ want me to answer that question when you're stuck here with me?"

Vaati's father leaned slightly away from Bellum. "I guess not." He sighed theatrically and began walking down a hall in a different direction from Vaati. "Let's go figure out our second wave attack plan," he said, exasperatedly.

When they were gone, Saria silently came out from behind the desk and went in search of Vaati. It wasn't that hard. For whatever reason, in _this_ place, she was able to see magic. Vaati had left a trail of it in his wake. She followed it for several minutes, still not finding anyone else in this castle, until she found a door. A simple door. A regular, good old door. She heard someone muttering behind it, so she knocked.

Silence.

"It's me," she whispered. Vaati opened the door and let her inside. For a bedroom, it was pretty bare. There was a bed and a desk, but it was really dark and Saria didn't think anyone would actually want to write anything in here. There were a few dilapidated books, and there was a doll with a big head and small body hanging from the ceiling in a corner. It had a sloppily drawn red mouth that was grinning in a way that suggested this was a doll of Vaati Senior. When Vaati shut the door, the wind from it blew past the doll, making it sway. _Kweek, kweek, kweek, kweek_ , was the noise it made.

 _What a ridiculous toy_ , Saria thought. "So," she said, sitting on the bed. "That was your family, huh?"

Vaati nodded.

She had little hope, but she had to ask. "Can you get me out of here?"

Vaati didn't respond. He looked despondent.

"Didn't think so." Saria looked at her feet. "So I guess your grandpa's the one that let's you travel back and forth?"

Vaati nodded. "My father does sometimes, but Grandpa Bellum really doesn't like it, and my dad always does what grandpa says."

"What did he mean when he said that they were both stuck here?"

"Well, a long time ago Grandpa was sealed in here by a hero. Somehow he got out and my dad was born, and then when my dad grew up he decided to be evil, too, and got sealed in here as well. I was born in here."

"Who's your mom?"

"My dad won't tell me. He won't even tell Grandpa Bellum."

"But if they're both stuck here, how did your dad get to Hyrule?"

"His seal isn't as strong as Grandpa Bellum's. Every once in a while they can work together to get my dad over the seal, for a while anyway."

Saria nodded thoughtfully. They sat in silence for a minute.

"I'm sorry I said I hate you," Saria said, looking at her hands and twiddling her thumbs.

"It's okay. I deserved it."

"It's not your fault."

"How is it not my fault?! I didn't have to actually do what he told me to."

"But he would have hurt you."

"So? Now he can hurt _everybody_."

Saria's eyebrows crossed and she considered. "So you grew up here, right?"

"Yeah."

"Have you been outside of here much?"

"Not before they sent me to spy on your family, no."

"Well then it's definitely not your fault! You couldn't have known any better. And anyways, once you found out what they really meant to do you got REALLY upset!"

"Well, thank you . . . but I still think it's my fault."

Saria put an arm around him. "Well, at least my family's okay."

"For now."

"Will you help me save them?"

"I don't know how . . ."

"We'll work together!"

Vaati lowered his face into his hands. "I'm afraid . . ."

Saria leaned her head on his arm. "Yeah. Me too."


	9. Chapter 8

AN: Thanks so much to my reviewers and favoriters and everyone! It makes me so happy to get feedback on my story and know it's being read!

* * *

The canyon at sunset was both beautiful and frightening. The sun painted the cliffs gold, but in the shadows they were blood red. They felt familiar to Shadow, and he wasn't sure why, but he saw himself in them, like his own body was made of their dust.

"Stop looking into the light," he heard Sashira suggest.

"Why?"

"Because your eyes respond to the sun the same way the cliffs do."

The curiosity made Shadow stop walking for a moment. "Really? What do you mean?"

"Hush! Keep moving."

He sighed and readjusted the sling with Zelly inside carefully. The little girl had fallen asleep, which he was honestly grateful for. Better she woke up and this was all already over.

It wasn't until the sun finally fell beneath the cliffs that they had their first close call. A Garo materialized as if out of thin air. Instinctively Shadow turned away from the cloaked person and bent over Zelly to hide his eyes.

"Halt!" The Garo had pulled a long katana from beneath his cloak, and held it up.

"Easy, sentry," Sashira said calmly, almost conversationally. "My . . . friend and I are just going to the border."

"Why does he stink of Ikana?"

"He's a spy."

The Garo lowered his weapon and took a few steps closer. To Shadow. "Show me your face, Garo!"

Sashira grabbed his arm. "It's safer if you don't. His identity must be kept secret from all for this to work! Chieftain's orders."

The Garo paused, then nodded reluctantly. He stepped away, leapt into the sky, and seemingly disappeared into a cliff side.

Sashira watched him go, then turned to Shadow. "They're awake. We should hurry."

They began walking so quickly that Zelly woke up. "Daddy, where are we going?"

"Shh! I need you to pretend your asleep, okay?"

"Okay. Are we in trouble?"

"Go to sleep," he repeated gently.

A few minutes later, Sashira spoke up. "The border is just beyond this cliff. You'll want to get at least a half mile away, and cross the river. Then you will be safe from Ikana _and_ the Garo. Clocktown is but a straight shot west from the river for about a day." They turned a corner and came upon a large, rugged clearing among the cliffs. Shadow wasn't positive, but he thought he heard the rush of a river up ahead.

They had just crossed the border when a Garo dropped ahead of them. "I _knew_ you were lying!" It sounded like the same Garo from before. "You won't get away with this, Sashira!"

"Don't interfere!" Sashira said with a hiss. "And be quiet-"

There was a _thwip_ sound, and the Garo ahead suddenly fell onto the ground with a scream, an arrow in his back. He burst into ghostly green flames and disappeared.

Shadow heard voices in the cliffs ahead where the arrow had been shot from.

"RUN!" Sashira commanded. "West! Cross the river!"

Shadow held tightly onto Zelly and sprinted onto the clearing. He heard arrows and saw the flashes of Garo cloaks. Ahead he saw people jumping from behind rocks, carrying large, rectangular swords that looked like they were meant to hack meat. These were not cloaked like the Garo, but wore fearsome masks and painted faces, feathers sprouting out of their heads like peacocks. They were as little armored as the Garo, some shirtless, others wearing a mantle about their shoulders. Some wore loincloths, others skirts, and even other a combination of both.

Shadow skidded and charged in a different direction from them, hearing their vibrato'd war cries getting closer. They were stopped by several Garo, who ran past them and attacked the newcomers. _Ikanans_ , Shadow had to guess. For a second he was stuck in the middle of a huge battle. Zelly was singing some song like her mother taught her to do when she was scared. He looked around to reorient himself, then dodged around an Ikanan and made a run for the river.

He thought he'd made it. There was a cliff drop off ahead, but he could hear the river at the base of it. But someone grabbed the back of his cloak and jerked him backwards. He choked and fell on his back on the dirt, struggling, but the grip didn't release. "NO! STOP! I'M NOT A GARO!"

When he finally processed what had happened, he found himself staring in to the bloodthirsty eyes of an Ikanan man, the top half of his face painted a dark red. Shadow was holding a hand out, palm facing the man, in pleading. The Ikanan's sword was leveled at Shadow, and he only realized then that his heart was pounding in fear.

The man looked at him in confusion and roughly pulled Shadow's hood down. Even more confusion crossed his face when Zelly's face appeared from the sling and shrieked at him and his scary, painted face. He hauled Shadow to his feet and dragged him behind a rock. "Stay here," he commanded, then returned to the battle. Shadow would have made another run for it, but there were Ikanan archers behind the rock as well, and they eyes him suspiciously.

The battle did not last long. Already he could hear the triumphant shouts of the Ikanans as they drove the Garo back across their border. The archers stood and cheered, and then the Ikanans began several chants of victory, one after the other. After a few minutes, the same Ikanan from before came back and again grabbed Shadow's cloak, dragging him into the open. The Ikanans stood in rows, pumping their swords and spears in the air. Shadow's captor dragged him before a muscular Ikanan who was more ornately dressed than the rest. His mantle was embroidered with gold thread, gems and glass beads creating geometric patterns across it. His skirt was decorated the same way, and the headdress above his head was made of green feathers. His skin was the same shade as Shadow's was now. As he turned to Shadow, he lowered his jagged-edged sword. He wore a mask painted half red, half blue, with holes where the mouth and eyes were. From underneath the chin of this mask Shadow could see long, curled locks of red beard. It was clear he was some type of Captain.

Shadow took a moment to look around. Aside from the Ikanans, there were three Garo on their knees nearby, hands tied behind their backs, guarded by three Ikanans. Their masks had been pulled down and their hoods removed. The Garo seemed to be embarrassed by this, and Shadow saw with guilt that one of them was Sashira. They shared tense looks.

"Remove your cloak," the Ikanan guard commanded, letting him go. First Shadow pulled Zelly out of the sling, helped her out of the her Garo cloak, and then removed his own as she clung to his leg.

"He was headed for the river," the guard explained to the captain, "with this strange child in his-"

"Mazatl?" The Captain interrupted. He stepped forward, sheathing his blade at his hip.

Shadow picked Zelly up and placed her squarely behind him, but kept a hand on her shoulder. Shadow had no clue what the man meant.

The Captain removed his mask. A square-jawed man of about thirty was behind it, grinning with large, square white teeth and glittering red eyes. His beard was indeed red, and so was his hair. "Mazatl!"

Shadow stared at him confusedly. He tried to say he didn't understand, but the Captain cut him off. "Mazatl, don't you remember me? Has it been so long?" He placed strong hands on Shadow's shoulders and shook him, as if to see if he was really there.

"Y-you know me?" Shadow asked. So not only had he changed appearance, he looked like somebody this man knew? He'd never seen this man! What were the Goddeses playing at? And yet, something tickled at the back of his mind. "Wha . . . no." He chuckled wryly, with some irritation. "I don't know you. I don't know _any_ of you." He reached back and pulled Zelly into his arms and began backing away. The Captain let him, so he kept going. "Look, I don't know who you are, or the Garo are, or . . . _anything_. I just want to get my daughter to Clock Town! _I'm not involved in any of this!_ "

He yelled, but his voice sounded like it was meant to convince _him_ more than the Ikanans.

"You really don't remember?" the Captain said, eyebrows furrowing. He folded his arms. "You've been missing for a very long time, Mazatl."

"STOP!" Shadow's voice caught as a splitting pain ripped across his head. Zelly noticed how suddenly shaky he had become and slipped out of his arms. Shadow fell to his knees and Zelly's bottom lip trembled. Strange images flashed across Shadow's eyesight, lights and feelings, sensations he couldn't remember ever having. His limbs were unresponsive and it took every effort to not fall onto his face. He thought he might throw up.

"What is your name, precious feather?" the Captain's voice was closer. Shadow forced his eyes open. The Captain was knelt before Shadow, directing his question at Zelly, who was clinging to Shadow, who could feel her shuddering. He tried to say something, but his mouth wouldn't move. He managed to put an arm around her and pull her closer.

"It's alright," the Ikanan said to Zelly. "Your father and I are good friends. He just doesn't remember me yet, is all."

Zelly seemed to think very carefully for a long time before answering. "My name is Zelly."

"I am much pleased! My name is Cualli."

Captain Cualli took Shadow by the shoulders again to keep him from falling flat on his face. He made Shadow look at him. " _Cualli du Ikana_." He spoke with emphasis.

Shadow didn't reply.

Another Ikanan came up and suggested, "Perhaps it is heat that's addled his brain?"

Shadow had no choice but to let Captin Cualli help him up and force him to walk, not to the river, but further into Ikanan territory. He grabbed Zelly's and held on fiercely.

"Where are we going?" Zelly asked Cualli.

"To the castle. There are many people who will want to see your father."

"His name is Shadow."

Cualli grinned. "'Shadow'? What a strange name to take! You have a lot of explaining to do, Mazatl!"


	10. Chapter 9

Russ sat on the front of the cart next to his grandpa, bored out of his mind. The cart was going just fast enough that he couldn't run next to it for very long. Grandpa had tried to keep him busy with stories, but Russ' brain was too on fire.

Russ wasn't much of a talker. He was more of a thinker. He grabbed a tall stalk of grass that was moving by the cart and waved it around.

"What-cha thinkin' about, Russ?" Grandpa Talon asked. He was a large, round-bellied man, balding on top but with a masterful mustache and powerful, hairy arms. Russ aspired to be like him when he grew up. Once Russ had even shaved the top of his head to be like grandpa. Momma "had a cow."

"Oh, nothing," replied Russ, snickering.

"You gotta be thinkin' about somethin'."

"No . . ." Russ slumped even further in his seat, chin resting on his chest, dragging the grass stalk on the ground.

Grandpa lowered his ever bushy eyebrows. Raising a daughter all by himself had made him _very_ good at intuitively knowing what was wrong. "You miss Saria, don'tcha?"

Oh _yeah!_ Russ sat up straight. _That's_ what he felt bad about! "Why can't we help Papa and Mama find her!? She's prolly just hidin' somewhere! She always does that." He waved the stalk of grass like a maestro. _But then why do I feel so worried? Somethin' bad's goin' on._

"Somethin' bad's goin' on I think," replied Grandpa.

"Righ'! I was jus' thinkin' that, Grandpa!" He lightly punched Grandpa lightly on the bicep (which was as high as he could reach), then folded his arms satisfactorily. "You and I think a-like, we're like-thinkin' men, Grandpa!"

Grandpa smiled behind his 'stache. He waited to see if Russ had more to say, then asked, "What'choo think's gonna happen?"

"I dunno," Russ replied thoughtfully. "Grandpa! We gotta defend the ranch! We gotta build, like, catapults and . . . and stuff!"

"Sounds like a good plan, son." Grandpa remembered when Ganondorf had taken over the ranch.

Well, he sure as heck wasn't gonna let THAT happen again.

"Hey, Melody!" Grandpa called back into the cart. "What'cha doin'?" He hadn't heard her all day, singing OR complaining—which didn't bother him in the least, mind you. Grandpa was an expert when it came to listening. He could listen for _hours_ . . . as long as he didn't fall asleep.

Nobody answered, so he looked back. Tatl and Tael were curled up in their grandmama's quilt, an old thing Talon had kept in use for decades, first with Malon, and now his grandkids. He smiled, knowing she'd like that. Then he frowned, eyebrows raising. He reached back and lifted the quilt a moment.

No Melody hiding there.

He leaned right and left to see past the milk boxes.

No Melody hiding there, either. There was just no sign of her red little hidey head. He realized after talking to Russ that, well . . . his sister was as hot-headed as their mother and probably wanted to help find Saria, and had that adventuring streak Link had that probably made her take matters into her own hands and made her fearless of the world.

She'd abandoned the cart.

"Oh, rats," he said, turning the cart around.

"Where're we goin'?" Russ asked.

"To find your . . . to find your OTHER sister."

Russ glanced back and inspected the cart. Then he turned back around. "Rats."


	11. Chapter 10

Link had the Triforce of Courage. He was The Hero. He had been scared before, but it never got in the way of, well, saving the world. Or anything.

He was walking the Castle Town walls. He leaned exhaustedly over the side, staring down into the moat.

So why was he so terrified now? He couldn't even _think_ straight because he was so worried about Saria. He stroked the fuzz of his goatee.

A glint caught his eye, and he looked onto the field. It came from a few miles away. Link was pretty sure about what it was, but he needed to be sure.

He ran to the other side of the wall and whistled into the city. A neigh answered him and Epona appeared from where he'd left her at the gate. He leapt over the side of the wall onto a roof, walked down it and descended to the ground before mounting Epona and spurring her back to the gate.

"Lower the bridge!" Link shouted. The guards hurried to do so, and Epona galloped across it and into the field.

It was midday, which had Link concerned. If he'd really seen what he thought he did, he was glad he'd closed up the city and surrounding areas. He slowed Epona as they got closer to the spot, and he began looking around while loosening the sword on his back.

A shrieking yell reached his ears, and a blue-skinned creature with a pig's snout and a makeshift metal sword ran at him from behind a rock. Link drew his sword and leapt off Epona. He caught the moblin's blade on his own, parrying it a few times before making a blunt blow.

The moblin fell to the earth, dazed. Link caught his breath as he listened for any others and thought of what to do.

It was as Link had thought. Whenever Ganon's evil magic or another magic similar was used, monsters were sure to follow.

Whatever had happened at the castle, it was big. This wasn't a keese or a chu-chu, a lower-class monster. This was a moblin, a monster that could take specific orders and even speak. Moblins were intelligent, and Link always wondered why they always seemed to side with the bad guys. What exactly did they get out of it?

Maybe he would seek out King Bulblin and convince him that the "winning" side was still Hyrule. Maybe he could convince the rest of the moblins and bokoblins to not attack.

The moblin was trying to get up, and Link strode forward, put a foot on its chest and pushed it back onto the ground. "Hey! My name is Link, you heard of me?"

The moblin's eyes widened and it hid behind its clawed hands, squawking.

Link applied more pressure to the moblin's chest. "You still follow King Bulblin?"

The moblin nodded.

"Good! TELL him," he said, pushing on the moblin's chest for emphasis, "LINK wants to SPEAK with him. NOW." He removed his foot and stepped back. "Can you tell him that for me?"

The moblin nodded again and stood up with some trouble. Link heard other squawks nearby, probably reinforcements, but the moblin answered them in a "shut up!" kind of way. He gave Link a calculating stare, then hurried off. Link heard that one and the others soon get further onto the field from him.

Link mounted Epona and galloped quickly back to Castle Town.

It was evening before Link got an answer. The guards on the wall were alerted to a large group of moblins heading toward the city. Link gave the order to stand down before any guards could send off any arrows or catapults.

He didn't want to mess this up. He climbed the wall and used a telescope to see who it was exactly that was coming. A group of at least thirty moblins came, most on the back of giant boars, holding aloft their banners. At their front was the largest moblin of all, riding the largest boar of all.

King Bulblin was looking fit and fat, as usual. His two horns had grown back in the past several years and again curled above his head magnificently, decorated with stripes of red and green. He halted his troops right outside the town walls, pulled a large, hallowed horn off his hip and blew into it. A loud, deep call spread across the field for miles around.

Link descended the wall and walked to the drawbridge, which was shut. Hyrule had put together a legion of soldiers, who stood uncomfortably with their new weapons. The Resistance Fighters, Shad, Rusl, Ashei, and Auru (who refused to retire), stood in front of the soldiers. A stand in for Shadow sat on a black charger next to Epona. Link climbed onto Epona's back and gave the signal to lower the drawbridge.

The drawbridge lowered with loud clanks, slowly revealing to each side the prowess of the other, and finally settled with a loud _bonk_. King Bulblin and Link sized each other up. King Bulblin did not even bother to look at anyone else. He acknowledged only the one that had bested him in battle. He grinned proudly. Link, his face carefully expressionless, walked Epona languidly across the drawbridge. He gestured with his head at the large moblin.

"Your horns grew back."

King Bulblin laughed. "Are they not more magnificent than before?"

"That depends on why you've come here. After all, last time you were on the losing side for almost the entire war. Surely you won't be so foolish again." Link smiled tauntingly.

King Bulblin tilted his head with an amused smirk. "Speak."

"I'm giving you an option to be on the winning side immediately, and I ask that you cease your pillaging of Hyrule before it even starts. No catching travelers unawares, no kidnappings, no doing the bidding of Ganon. You will be on our side, and you will work with us."

"And what do we get in return?"

Link had spoken to Zelda about this, and he quickly replied, "Land. And freedom to travel through Hyrule safely. You can barter and sell things just like all other Hyruleans. If this truce is respected, you may come into our cities, as long as your are unarmed."

King Bulblin shook his head. "We have claws." He spread his hands. "And horns. No one of us will ever be unarmed in the eyes of your people."

Link nodded. King Bulblin had a point. Mixing Hyruleans with Bulblins would be difficult.

"All we have known is battle," continued King Bulblin. "Would you have us put up our swords and become like you?"

"Our people will need body guards. You have felt it, the evil moving across the land. We fear it will only get worse, but with your help, perhaps Hyrule's people will remain safe as they cross the fields under your protection."

He heard uneasy mutterings behind him among his troops, but he ignored it.

"There will be plenty of opportunity to sharpen your ax, King Bulbin. Just so long as you do not heed Ganon's—"

"It is not the King of Evil, nor is it the Usurper King."

A silence fell on the Hyruleans. "How do you know this?" Link asked, genuinely curious.

King Bulblin glanced at his troops, then said, "As you said, we have felt it. It is a power my people have not felt for a very long time, that of the Lord of Wind."

"Lord of Wind? Do you know his name? We are trying to—"

"He is not the one you must ready your blade for." King Bulblin's face was more serious than Link had ever seen it. The moblins, bokoblins, and bulbins in his ranks were stiff and still, silent. It was unnerving. "Do you know our belief," King Bulblin stated, "our story of how we came to be, O one with the Holy Blade?"

Link shook his head.

"Many thousands of years ago, there was a being who craved the light. His name was Bellum. In his greed, he created us that we might gather the light for him, and feed it to him. As young creations, we were eager to serve our god, and did so. We plundered, and murdered, and made war with the creations of the goddesses. Our god reigned for many generations, until all light was taken from the world.

"With no more light to feed his hunger, the god we had pledged our hearts to serve turned on us, and began devouring us camp by camp, army by army. We pleaded with our god, certain that he was merely angry, that we could again gain favor in his sight, but our cries were ignored. Our own creator cared more for himself than his creations. We were mere pawns, tools to be used and discarded.

"Your goddesses, in their desperation, called on the Hero, one of your ancestors, and that hero sealed Bellum away and freed the light he had stolen. With Bellum's defeat, my people were driven back into the shadows, for we had no place among the children of the goddesses."

For a long moment, Link mulled over King Bulbin's story. Then he said, "You will have a place now. We open our arms to you and your people."

King Bulblin nodded slowly. "This pleases us. We have no desire to serve our selfish god once more. However, how can we be sure we will not be betrayed?"

"That is a question we have about you, as well."

King Bulblin shifted, and then dismounted his boar. "Let us discuss this like fellows. Bring your counselors."

Raising his eyebrows in surprise, pleased, Link dismounted Epona and gestured at The Resistance Fighters, who then hurried across the bridge to him. A few of King Bulbin's own came, walking at a respectful distance from him. When the two groups were facing each other, King Bulblin motioned to his own, and they sat. Link copied the gesture. When only Link and King Bulblin were left standing, they nodded and slowly sat at the same time.

King Bulblin sat cross legged and rested his elbows on his knees. He brought up a clawed hand and said, "My elders have come up with a plan that would serve both of us in this endeavor."

Again, Link was surprised. They had already considered an alliance?

"We do not expect you to trust us outright," King Bulblin began. "And for this reason, as a symbol of our agreement, we would like to issue a trade."

Link leaned forward. "I'm listening . . ."

"We have . . . a very precious person in our ranks. You are aware of our loyalty to the Gerudo King?" King Bulblin waited for Link to nod, then continued, "That loyalty, while it has diminished, still remains. The Gerudo were kind to us when no one else would be. When the Gerudos fled from the desert into the next world, wherever that may be, many ill-fit to travel were left behind, including one . . . that they surely did not design to leave. Our people have raised this one as our own. It would be a great boon to us if this child were to learn to ways of Hyrule, and we would be entrusting a precious member of our people to you."

"That seems . . . possible," Link replied.

"In return," King Bulblin continued, "we ask that the Hylians return the favor in kind, send one of their own to be with us, someone equally as precious, to learn the ways of the bulbin."

Murmurs began again behind Link. No one could imagine sending anyone to live in such barbarous conditions as the monsters in front of them lived. Link, however, saw that was exactly the point. It didn't make him any less nervous. "I would be happy to accompany the bulbin."

King Bulblin laughed. "No, no! You are a great general, your place is on the field. We want someone a little more . . . close to the heart."

"The princess is with child, and there is _no way_ I'm letting her go with you."

Again, King Bulblin shook his head. "We care not about the princess' heart. It is your heart we wish to entreat."

Link was confused, and King Bulblin made a wide gesture back to his troops, and a single boar came trotting to them. At first all Link saw was a moblin on its back, but as it got closer his heart plummeted in disbelief as a head of beautiful red hair appeared behind the moblin, a young girl in a bright yellow dress.

Link leaped to his feet immediately, drawing his sword instinctively. "MELODY!" He heard the soldiers behind him begin to move onto the drawbridge, he heard metal scraping against metal as they, too, readied their weapons. King Bulblin lofted his ax, and his people drew their arrows and swords. Link forced himself to stop, ignoring the pounding in his chest. He held an arm high, motioning to every soldier to stop.

The moblin on the front of the boar took Melody by the arm and lowered her to the ground. Another person dismounted behind her. "It's okay, Papa!" Melody's cheerful voice helped to calm Link's alarm considerably.

"Melody . . ." Link tried to form words. "Are you _okay?_ "

She grabbed the hand of the person behind her and dragged them both to Link. "Yes, Papa, Nanaco saved me from a lightning chu-chu." She tugged on the person's arm. "Tell them, Nanaco!" The person seemed to be a young man, masked, and he stood uncomfortably in Link's presence. King Bulblin barked a command at him, and he removed his mask.

If Link felt unnerved before, now he felt absolutely livid, but he forced himself to remain still.

The boy his daughter was so enamored with, the one who had supposedly "saved her," was in fact a Gerudo Male. Only one male was born to the Gerudo every hundred years, and the last one had been _Ganondorf_.

The boy returned Link's glare with his own piercing gaze, the gold eyes shining out of an olive green face, round and fierce, his head with the same red hair as the man who had caused Hyrule so much trouble. Just seeing someone who looked so _nearly_ like the King of Evil brought so much anger into Link's heart. He could not look away. The boy, Nanaco, innocently looked back.

"This is the precious one we mean to entrust to you," King Bulblin announced, stepping over and putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Our Gerudo prince, Nanaco."

He heard Shad whisper to the others, "They can't be _serious_." Then louder, "Link! You can't possibly be actually considering this!"

"Easy, boy," interrupted Auru, his old voice cracking. "Leave this to Link."

"There's no way the people of Hyrule would accept . . . that _thing_ into their city!"

"Why not?" Ashei piped up, putting her hands on her hips and continuing deadpan. "I think it'd be swell. Always wanted to learn about moblins, everyone else can get over it."

"What is happening?" The new voice was Ilia's. She had jogged up to them and clutched Shad's arm. "Why does he have Melody?!"

Link stayed silent. He remained silent until the whispering stopped. It took all of his will power to disconnect this boy from the man that had spread so much evil across Hyrule, had killed so many. He forced himself to remember he was an honorary brother to the Gerudo, and missed them as much as King Bulbin's people. He told himself that he ought to care about the Gerudo's prince as well, that they would want him to take him in should the need arise.

And the need had arisen.

"I . . . will have to speak with Her Majesty about harboring your lad . . ." he looked at his daughter and his exposure fell away. "But there is no way I can let my daughter live among you."

King Bulblin frowned, displeased. "We offer our most precious treasure, but you cannot offer even your own child?"

Link knew he was being irresponsible. This sort of trade had happened often in Hyrule's history, but it didn't make him any more willing to do it to his own daughter. He implored King Bulblin, "She's just a _girl_ , she's not used to . . . to your kind of life. You don't understand how _fragile_ she is."

" _Papa!_ "

"There _must_ be someone else."

"There is no one. We have thought this over long and hard."

Tensions were getting ever higher, Link knew. He felt Auru set a hand on his arm. "Link . . . it would seem they will take no other option. They must fear you greatly, and must care for their prince a great deal. They _are_ giving you charge over their own 'child,' if you will. This is a language they understand. I'm not sure anything else will persuade them."

Link knew they couldn't manage having King Bulblin against them, certainly not if he was telling the truth about this Bellum. He hated what he said next. "Would you permit an escort for her? We would allow—"

"We will not. It is crucial that she learn our ways without filter."

His stomach was in knots.

"Come on, Papa! I'll be fine!" Melody seemed to think this was all just one grand adventure. She was practically bouncing on her heels.

Link watched her every move, burning it into his memory. He couldn't imagine not seeing her for who-knew-how-long. He couldn't imagine . . . _he couldn't imagine it!_

"Please," Link begged. He dropped to his knees. His hands were shaking. "King Bulblin, I'm begging you. I've already lost one daughter. I can't . . . I simply _cannot_ lose another."

King Bulblin softened. Suddenly he pointed a clawed finger at the Resistance Fighters. "That one! He shall accompany her."

Shad pointed at himself and shrank. "Me?!"

"NO!"

Both Link and King Bulblin were taken by surprise. Ilia stepped in front of the fighters, head held high. She looked bravely at King Bulblin. "Do you remember me?"

King Bulblin nodded with a smile. "Yes, the brave one."

Ilia's fists were clenched so hard her knuckles were white.

Link put a hand on her shoulder. "Ilia, what are you—"

"Do you remember what lengths the Hero went to recover me and the children you stole, all those years ago?"

King Bulblin nodded.

Ilia took another step forward, dislodging Link's hand. "Then I will go, and you should know that if any harm or discomfort comes to Link's daughter, I will not hesitate to tell the truth! If you wish to betray us, you will have to kill not only Link's daughter, but _me_ as well, and in doing so, you will NEVER be welcome in Hyrule again. Link will forever seek to destroy you, to keep you in your dark caves and trapped in your insignificant existence as godforsaken _beasts_ until the end of time! Is that _favorable_ to you?"

The Hylians were stunned by Ilia's speech. Apparently, so was King Bulblin. He guffawed. "You will fit right in with the bulbin, she Hylian."

Melody rolled her eyes. "Her name is _Ilia,_ " she said pointedly.

"Very well, Lady Ilia. Does this suit you better, Hero?"

Link did not feel suited at all, but he nodded stiffly.

The tension in the field had dissipated largely. The moblins stood down and seemed rather happy. Link heard Auru telling the Hyrulean soldiers to also stand down. Link held out his arms to Melody, and his daughter ran into them. He clutched her tightly.

"Papa, I'm so excited!"

Link knelt again and took her face in his hands. He bumped foreheads with her. "You'll be fine, princess, I promise. I love you."

"Papa, why are you crying?"

"I just, I love you, okay?" He hugged her again and kissed her head.

"Sheesh! Let go, Papa!" It was a minute before Link finally did let go. He wasn't sure what to say to his excited daughter. Should he scare her with the truth, or let her be oblivious? Would the truth make it easier, would she even know what he was talking about?

Melody had quickly bounced back to the side of that Gerudo boy. Link was left with his hand outstretched to her, fighting the urge to grab her and retreat into the city.

"We will be here until the moon rises," King Bulblin announced. "Be ready to return with us then! Prince Nanaco," again he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You carry the hearts of your people ever with you. Be strong, my son."

Nanaco nodded minutely.

Ilia looked back at Shad and tilted her head down apologetically. She smiled. "Sorry, Shad."

It was only then Shad broke out of his stupor. He rushed to her. "You can't do this!"

Ilia's face said that, yes, she _could_.

"No! King Bulblin!" Shad ran after the retreating back of the moblin, who refused to give him any attention. "Take me! Take me!"

Ilia smiled again and found Link staring at her. He looked absolutely crushed.

"Ilia . . ." He suddenly pulled her to him in a crushing hug. "Thank you, Ilia, thank you."

"Oh, Link," Ilia hugged him back, feeling tears fall down her face. Returning to the hands of King Bulblin was the last thing she had ever wanted, but she would do anything for Link, anything for Link's children.

"Be safe. Oh Goddeses, _be safe_ , Ilia." It was not a command or a request.

It was a prayer.


	12. Chapter 11

"I CAN'T EVEN LOOK AT YOU!"

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT, MALON!"

"GET OUT! GET OOOOUT!"

"FINE, I'M LEAVING!"

Talon looked up as the door to the farmhouse burst open and Link came outside. After the Bulblins left, the family had returned to the ranch, meeting up with Talon and the rest of the kids on the way.

At first, Link didn't notice Talon and just stared at the ground with his hands on his hips, pacing this way and that.

"Don't be mad at Malon," Talon said. "It's my fault, not hers."

"I KNOW," came Link's clipped, growling reply.

Neither of them had looked Talon in the eye since he told them how he had lost track of Melody. Talon was angry at himself, but he was older and knew more about these things. He knew the anger was really just all of them worrying and blaming themselves. None of them had gotten any sleep lately. "Don't blame yourself, either, son."

Link's fists clenched, his muscles tightening.

Talon continued, "I'm sure you'll find a way—"

"TALON. I CAN'T—I JUST . . . I CAN'T TALK TO YOU RIGHT NOW." Link strode away, whistling. Epona caught up with him, ears laid back, but she relaxed when he put a hand on her neck. He pulled himself onto her back, and the pair galloped out of the ranch onto the field.

Talon leaned back against the farmhouse wall, sighing. He glanced at the corral, where Russ was watching Tatl and Tael. The children were subdued, even Russ.

* * *

Saria and Vaati Jr. hadn't spoken for a few minutes when a knock came at the door. They looked at each other in alarm, then Vaati Jr. jumped off his bed and pointed emphatically underneath it. Saria dove onto her belly and scurried underneath it, muttering the Avoidance spell Aunt Zelda had taught her.

"Oh Vaaati! It's meeeeeeeee!" Thankfully, it sounded like Mr. Vaati, not the grandpa.

"Coming," said Vaati, making sure his blankets covered the space over his bed before opening the door.

Mr. Vaati stood outside, wearing his sharp toothy grin. It looked almost pained. The black lines that trailed down his cheeks like tear streaks made his dark eyes even more hideous.

"What is it, Dad?" Vaati asked.

His father kept grinning. "I have a present for you! Can I come in?"

Vaati's face showed his unease, but he opened the door wider and Mr. Vaati came in. "What present?"

"TA-DA!" Mr. Vaati whipped his hands out of his cloak and held them up. He held a small bulbous object with holes in the top of it, painted beautifully in red and dark gray. An ocarina. "I thought since you'd never get to see that girl again I'd make you an ocarina since you talked about it so much!"

An ocarina was NOT a substitute for the death of a friend, which was obvious if you were to look at Vaati's face, but he took the ocarina.

"Play it! Play it!" Mr. Vaati clapped, sounding like an overgrown child.

Vaati lifted the instrument to his lips and blew half-heartedly into it.

There were tiny pops which caught Vaati by surprise. He held the ocarina away. Tiny flags had burst out of every hole.

Mr. Vaati burst out laughing. Saria didn't think his mouth could get any wider—oh wait. Yes it could. Mr. Vaati stifled his laughter and wiped the tears from his eyes quite quickly when he saw that Vaati's shoulders had slumped and he was looking at the ground morosely. Mr. Vaati quickly reached forward and plucked the flags out of the ocarina. "It DOES work, you know. I just couldn't resist a joke. You know me!"

Vaati seemed a little less cheerless at that. "Oh. Well, thank you."

"You're welcome my boy!" Mr. Vaati patted him on the shoulder.

They stared awkwardly at each other. When he realized Vaati wasn't going to play the ocarina with him around, he said, "Well, got to get back to work! See ya junior!" then spun around and whisked out the door, shutting it behind him.

Vaati got onto the floor and looked under the bed. "You okay, Saria?" he whispered.

"Yup!"

". . . Why do you look so happy?"

Saria was grinning as if she had a secret. A plan. "Your ocarina. Does it really work?"

Vaati brought it to his lips and blew into it. It made a nice sound. He tried covering a few holes with his fingers and played around with the different notes he could make.

When he pulled it from his lips, Saria reached for it. "This is great!"

"Why? You're still stuck here."

Saria held the ocarina like it was her most precious treasure. "Yeah, but with _this_ , maybe we can find a way out on our own!"

"What do you mean?"

Saria glanced up at him warily. Then she lifted the ocarina to her lips. She tested a few notes, then played her Aunt Zelda's lullaby.

Electric static seemed to fill the space under the bed, and Vaati's hair stood on end. "Woooow. Is that song magic?"

Saria nodded with a twinkle in her eye. "I know other ones, too! Hold onto my arm."

Vaati did so.

Putting the ocarina again to her lips, she played a song Papa taught her—the Minuet of Forest. As the last note filled the air, she waited.

And waited.

"Hmm," she said thoughtfully, and tried another. The Serenade of Water. Bolero of Fire. Nocturne of Shadow. Requiem of spirit. Prelude of Light.

Nothing.

Noting her disappointed expression, Vaati asked, "What were those songs supposed to do?"

"Well, when Papa played them with the Ocarina of Time, they teleported him to the temples in Hyrule. I just thought . . ." she fell silent.

Vaati patted her arm.

Saria sighed audibly. "One more." She brought the ocarina to her lips, closed her eyes, and played Saria's Song.

The notes were eaten up by the walls of the castle. Saria set the ocarina down with another sigh.

" _Hello? Can you hear me?_ "

Both Vaati and Saria shot their heads up in surprise, both hitting the base of Vaati's bed and grimacing.

It was a voice, a young girl's voice. " _Link? Can you hear me?_ "

"Saria?"

" _Hm? Who is this?_ "

"My name is . . . uh, Link is my Papa!"

" _Oh!_ _So he's a daddy now? Haha, that's great! Where is he now? I've been stuck in the Sacred Realm so long, I haven't heard him play my songs in years._ "

"He's at home. I think."

Vaati's eyes were bulging out of his head at the disembodied voice. He hissed, "Who is that?!"

"Sh. It's my namesake. Sage Saria? I really need your help. I'm stuck somewhere in . . . in . . ."

"Shadow realm!" Vaati supplied. "Or Dark World. Or, or corrupted Sacred Realm?"

There was a second of silence. " _How did you end up there?! Does Link know where you are?_ "

"No," was Saria's answer. "My friend is here with me. His name is Vaati, but so is his dad's, but his dad and his grandpa are mean, and we're stuck here in their castle and we can't get out!"

" _This is just terrible! . . . You hang in there, okay? I'll talk to the other sages and we'll see what we can do. Keep your chin up!_ "

"Thank you, Saria!"

" _Oh, and dear?_ "

"Yes?"

" _What's your name?_ "

She smiled. "Saria."

They heard a giggle. " _Link named you after me?_ "

"Yeah," she said. "He thought about calling me Navi, but he said it just didn't suit me."

Another laugh. " _Okay—Oh! I have to go. You're right, you are in a very dangerous place. I can feel the evil there . . . you stay hidden and call me ONLY when you need to, okay? Don't let them find out_."

"Yes, Saria."

" _Talk to me again in three days!_ "

"Okay."

They waited, but there was no response. Sage Saria had apparently left.

"Wow!" Vaati exclaimed. "What do we do now?"

Saria crawled out from under the bed and stood. " _Now_ we go around and see which parts of this castle respond to Zelda's Lullaby! It'll tell us where the most magical parts are. Come on!"

"I'll make sure the coast is clear."

* * *

Hyrule Field glinted orange in the setting sun. Most people would be getting safely indoors, but Link had no fear of monsters. He just couldn't go home yet. Not because he was angry, though he was still angry and sick from worry. No. For whatever reason, Link had an itch. It was in his brain. He hadn't felt it in a long time.

He just didn't know what to do. With no father of his own, he had no one to consult. Talon had told him not to feel guilty, but what did HE know? He lost Melody!

Link forced the blaming feelings out of his brain. He had been going in circles for hours. _"But I lost Saria_." He had let Epona wander along the field since they'd left the ranch. Only now did he look to see where he was. There were trees around him, sparsely spaced.

He thought of Rusl. Certainly he could ask him what to do. Or Ilia's father. What about Renado? He had a daughter . . .

No. He looked up at the stars. He loved those men, but none of them had anything to do with magic. Renado sort of did, since he was a Shaman, but it was a different kind of magic. None of them were Hylian, either. Growing up, there were subtle differences between him and the other villagers of Ordon, who were all human. Things he felt, the way he thought, things he could hear . . . he was just different. He knew his girls would be, too. He longed for someone who would understand him and be able to tell him how to _do_ this.

The only other Hylian—or pseudo-Hylian—Link knew personally, Shadow, was missing as well.

" _Link!_ "

He halted Epona.

" _Link can you hear me?!_ "

That was not a voice he'd heard in . . . _decades_. Timidly, wondering if he was crazy, he whispered, "Saria?"

" _Link! We sages are working together in the Sacred Realm to contact you. We do not have long, our power grows weak. There is much evil here, and it is growing. You must help us! Your daughter, Saria, has contacted us from inside here. She is trapped with the sorcerer Vaati. We will use the last of our strength to rescue her from the clutches of evil. Worry not!_ " The voice suddenly disappeared.

"What? Wait! Saria!" Link yelled her name several more times, waiting unmoving with bated breath. Even Epona stood still.

Saria's voice did not return, and yet Link's heart had lifted—the sages knew where Saria was! Then his stomach dropped out. His daughter was in the Sacred Realm, in the hands of someone named Vaati.

"Girl, are you ready for this?" he asked Epona. The horse snorted proudly as if to say, _you have to ask?_ "HIYA!" Link spurred her on and they raced back to the castle. He needed Princess Zelda's help.


	13. Chapter 12

_Thanks for reading!_

Soundtrack choice: Digital Daggers—Close Your Eyes

* * *

Shadow had no choice. He held Zelly's hand tightly to him as they were surrounded by Ikanan soldiers and forced to march across the plateau. He was aware of the Garo prisoners, including Sashira, their chains clanking together as they walked in the dark.

He felt a strong hand on his shoulder. "Mazatl, if you need to be carried, we have—"

"I can walk." Shadow refused to look at the speaker. His face hurt his head. All of this hurt his head . . . but he was NOT about to start crawling!

Cualli laughed. "You always were stubborn! No wonder you rose the ranks from a baker's boy."

Shadow chaffed. _And what is wrong with a baker's boy?!_

Zelly skipped along next to him, utterly carefree. "Daddy, is this where _your_ mommy and daddy live?"

Those words smacked him like bricks. He halted in his tracks and took in the air of the canyon. Was this . . . was he . . .? _Were_ there parents here who . . . _what?!_

"No," he answered, picking her up and picking up the pace. "I don't have parents, Zelly."

Cualli kept up with him easily. "You're not wrong. Your parents died when you were young. You really _have_ lost your memory."

He couldn't help but feel sad at that. But was it a new pain . . . or an old one? It felt like a pain he'd had for a long time. Longer than he'd been alive. "How . . . how long have I been missing?"

"Three years!"

Shadow shook his head. _That's impossible_. Then again, Link had told him Ikana was completely abandoned. Was it possible he'd gone back in time?

The eastern sky was just barely beginning to lighten, and the cliffs were painted an odd greenish color by the moon, which was still high. "How much longer?"

"Not long," Cualli promised.

Fifteen minutes later, there was enough light for Shadow to see the castle ahead. It was built into the cliff itself, large and intimidating. The grounds around it reminded him of the training grounds in Hyrule Castle. It was painted in brilliant reds and yellows and blues. Two giant pillars stood on either side of the sharply arched entry.

Something about the sight, the smells, even the way the pre-dawn light hit the stones. Shadow's eyes rolled back into his head, and he felt like he was falling.

* * *

 _The chunky little lad cut his play spear through the air. "HIYAAAAA!" The straw doll was no match for him, and he stabbed it through its little wheat heart._

 _His fair-haired friend clapped his hands and hollered in a high-pitched voice. "You smashed it, Mazzy!"_

 _Mazzy began picking the remains of the doll from the end of his spear. "Just wait, Impa, I'm going to win the contest and become a great captain!"_

 _Impa jumped up from his seat on the small cot and rubbed one eye with a fist. "But Mazzy, if you become a knight . . . I won't be able to talk to you anymore." The sadness in the blue eyes made Mazzy uncomfortable._

 _He quickly rejoined, "Don't worry! I'll always talk to you, Impa!"_

 _The blue eyes lit up like stars. "Really?"_

" _Always."_

Shadow felt sad. He wanted to know why the boys couldn't talk to each other if one became a captain. He wasn't sure why he cared, the dream just made him feel a desperate longing he couldn't displace.

He opened his eyes. Morning sunlight came in through a square stone window. Pushing himself onto his elbows, he saw that he was in a bedroom, on a . . . _very dusty_ bed.

Seriously, it seemed like nobody had slept on it in centuries. The blanket, what was left of it anyway, was moth eaten, the pillows non-existent. The floor was no better. Stone brick, and dustier than the Gerudo desert. He carefully placed his feet on the ground. He was still wearing his same clothes and boots from before, though the Garo outfit was nowhere to be seen.

An aged wardrobe sat in one end of the room, carvings worn off by wind and time. Sun-bleached, ragged banners lined the walls, but he couldn't make out the design of the insignia. A basin sat on a small table, broken and cracked at the base. He eyes finally examined the door.

It wasn't so much a door as a hanging piece of driftwood kept in place by a single, rusted hinge. He gave it a small push, and it opened with the sound of nails on a chalkboard. The hall outside was as bare and dusty as the room, the same old banners lining the walls. The torches were unlit. It was deathly silent.

He ran back into the room and peeked out the window, listening hard.

Nothing. Just wind. And birds.

"What's . . . going on?"

Was he still dreaming? He patted the windowsill. Seemed real enough. He went back into the hallway and glanced in both directions, suddenly realizing that as he'd been unconscious, he had no idea where Zelly had wandered off to. "Zelly?!" He called loudly. The whole castle seemed to shiver, as if by a simple puff of his breath the whole structure would come tumbling down.

He didn't trust it.

A gurgling laugh reached his ear. "Zelly? Zelda Nohanna Dafini Hyrule," he added playfully, simply happy she was okay. "Where are you?"

The laugh seemed to come from everywhere, all directions at once and then nowhere. Shadow spun in circles. "Zelly?" he called again.

Just more laughter. Shadow stopped to see if he could pinpoint where, _exactly_ , it came from. It was definitely Zelly's laugh. Something caught the corner of his eye, and he looked into the long shadow than ran along the corridor.

Yes, there it was. It was . . . two little eyes. Two red dots, floating in space in the shadows. The laugh followed the eyes as they traveled along the hallway, staring at him curiously.

Shadow could not believe his eyes. "Zelly?!"

The eyes brightened in laughter and zipped away. "Catch me, Daddy! Watch what I can do!"

"ZELLY!" Shadow ran after the voice through one corridor after another, occasionally seeing the eyes, otherwise just following the voice. "Are you—are you _shadow-melding?!_ "

Another laugh, and the little girl appeared ahead, in front of a large, metal gate. She brought a finger to her lips and said, "Shh." Then she became shadow again, and flitted through the metal bars like butter through a fork. She appeared on the other side, grinning proudly at her little trick, while Shadow just gaped. Then she ran from the gate and into the dark.

Shadow approached the gate, trying to remember what it would feel like to do what Zelly just had. He shook his head. _No. Never again._ He found the gate wasn't locked, so he shoved it out of the way and followed after Zelly.

It became pitch black, and he put a hand on the wall to help him navigate.

He heard Zelly whining ahead, apparently forgetting she meant to be quiet. "Come ooooon, Daddy! Can't you see in the dark?!"

Shadow stopped. Then he shut his eyes, focusing on what he could hear. When he opened his eyes, he no longer needed to hold onto the wall. He could see clearly, not as clearly as in the light, but clear enough to find details in the cracked bricks of the walls and ceiling. Traveling much quicker now, his boot steps echoing in his ears, he soon reached a semi-large room. Manacles hung on chains on the wall. Boards tied together in an ex decorated the center, and Shadow didn't want to know what the oppressive smell was. It wasn't a physical smell, but one he knew meant a lot of death had happened here.

"Zelly, where are you?" he asked, a little more nervously.

"Who's there?! I won't break! I swear! Do what you will!"

Shadow followed the new voice and found none other than Sashira, sitting with her back to the wall on the other end of the room, hands chained above her head in a way that would make it very uncomfortable if not impossible to stand up. "Sashira?!"

In his night vision, he saw that she recognized his voice. She spat at his feet, or where she thought they were. "Ikanan scum. I tried to _help_ you, and yet here you are, with them!"

"It's okay!" Shadow reassured her, making hand motions before realizing she couldn't see them. "There's . . . no one in the castle! I don't know where they went." So he hadn't been dreaming.

Sashira's brow furrowed. "They'll probably come for me at nightfall."

"Why night? Sashira, did you not hear me? _No one's here!_ Let me look for the keys, I'll get you out of those chains." Of all places, the keys were simply lying on the floor, and when he walked to let Sashira go, he inspected the manacles around her wrists. They were heavily damaged, rusted, worn . . . and Shadow wondered if they could keep _anybody_ locked up for long. "Why didn't you just break out?"

"Huh? Don't you think I _tried?_ " She shook her hands to demonstrate—and the manacles came off on their own. "Oh! Hey, thanks."

"I didn't—"

"Where are the others?"

"The others?"

"Yes, the two Garo that were with me."

"I haven't seen them."

She looked around blindly. "They're not here? . . . Well we have to find them!"

Shadow took both her shoulders and stared at her. "Sashira, I don't know when they are coming back. I'll do what I can for your friends, but you have to go, NOW."

Confusion crossed her face, for a second Shadow wondered if she was fully conscious. What had . . . happened to her down here? How long had she been in the dark and silence? "M-maybe they got out before me," she suddenly suggested.

"Yes, maybe that," Shadow said. She allowed him to lead her through the dark, and Shadow heard Zelly following, singing a happy little tune.

"What IS that?" Sashira asked.

"It's Zelly. She's never been afraid of the dark."

"How are you seeing anything? How is SHE seeing anything?"

"Magic!"

They reached the gate and the much better lit corridor from before, but they didn't stop. The three continued through the castle, wandering door to door, hallway to hallway until they finally reached a huge, open chamber, and Shadow recognized the archway that led out of this place.

Unfortunately, between them and that gate were four redead. "Okay . . ." Shadow said. "I'll catch their screams, YOU strike them down."

"With what?"

"Your sword!"

"They took my-"

"It's on your hip!"

She looked down. "Oh. Uh . . . r-right." She drew the blade, the sound drawing the attention of the redead, whose faces turned to gape at them. One let out a curious moan.

"Zelly, you stay in the shadows until Daddy says it's okay, okay?"

"Okay!"

"D-did your daughter just disappear?!"

"Yeah."

"But—but-"

"Later."

Sashira nodded and composed herself. "Right," she managed to squeak out. She ran in a wide half circle around the room and hid behind a pillar. Shadow walked straight at the redeads, slowly. He didn't exactly fancy risking having one of those things biting his neck, so he chose to only get as close as he needed to be noticed.

Closer . . . closer . . . and yet the one redead just stared, and the others seemed completely uninterested. Shadow thought this was terribly unusual. He was already only five feet from the staring one. "Well? Come on, aren't you hungry?"

The redead tilted its head, and then spread its arms wide, and lowered down at the waist before rising back up. Suddenly he had swept around and was spinning in circles. One, two, four, seven, more. If he hadn't been scared and shocked out of his mind, Shadow might be impressed. When the redead came out of the spin, the other redeads stood at attention. Suddenly all four were leaping across the room like acrobats, and Shadow stayed glued to the ground as they twirled and spun, leapt and rolled. They moaned, mouths gaping, but their steps were perfectly in sync. The one who had stared did a series of back handsprings and one back flip. Then they gathered in a circle and began to spin around a tiny figure, who happened to be Zelly, who materialized right in the middle of their circle. She danced and spun with them, laughing like it was her birthday. "Look! Pretty dancers!"

They danced around her, and Shadow sprinted.

Sashira got there first. _Slash! Slash!_ With two swipes of her sword, she took care of the first two. Then onto the third with a stab. The final redead backed up faster than a redead ought to be able to. Sashira took Zelly's hand and pulled her away. The last redead, the one who had apparently been the leader, hunched down to Sashira's height, his mouth gaping wider than seemed possible, eyes glaring bright, bright blue. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIK!"

Sashira froze at the shriek, her sword dropping from suddenly slack fingers. Shadow reached them, grabbed her sword and stabbed it through the final redead's chest. It fell back and disintegrated into green smoke.

Shadow knelt down. "Zelly, are you alright?"

The little girl had tears streaming down her cheeks. She threw her arms around his neck, turned a mean face on Sashira, and stated, "I HATE you!"

Sashira seemed shocked.

"Don't feel bad," Shadow told her. "They say that at this age. Zelly, why didn't you stay hidden like I asked? You could have been hurt."

Zelly 'hmphed!' "They just wanted to _dance_ for you! And she killed them! Poor pretty dancers . . ." she snuggled against him as closely as she could.

Shadow unwrapped her arms and set her firmly on the ground. "Zelly, you should listen to me. We are in a dangerous place. Those things could have hurt you!"

She frowned at him, then pointed accusingly at him. "LI-AR!" and she disappeared.

 _Ooooh no you don't! Not this time!_ He felt the floor give way as he morphed into shadow. He easily found the little wisp of his daughter and forced her to rematerialize with him.

"Heeeeeeey," she said, seemingly offended.

"What? Did you forget Daddy could do that, too? Sashira, let's go."

Sashira didn't move. "What are you?"

Shadow paused. "I don't know. Is that a good enough answer?"

"The Ikanan captain . . . he said he knew you. Are you . . . some sort of secret weapon?"

Shadow turned on her, his eyes flashing. "I am _not_ a weapon, Sashira." _Not anymore_. Without seeing if the Garo was following, he strode out of the castle.


	14. Chapter 13

I decided I didn't like the moblin/Melody situation. So I fixed it in this chapter. After this chapter, they go back to Hyrule Castle, Link and family go back to the ranch (minus Melody), and Malon finally let's Link hear EXACTLY what she thought of his original "agreement" with King Bulblin. Then Link goes on a ride and Sage Saria contacts him AND THEN WE'RE CAUGHT UP.

Let me know if any of this is confusing or if you have any questions . . .

Thanks for reading!

* * *

Chapter 13

A few days earlier . . .

Melody decided she didn't mind boar riding. Actually, she _really really_ liked it. Horses were, to her, boring. And skinny. The boar felt more solid beneath her, and she liked the stomping sound and the snorts, as well as the laborious rocking back and forth. Ilia sat behind her, not enjoying the ride so much, if her death grip around Melody's waist was anything to go by. Melody held pretend reins and muttered, "Hya!" under her breath. In actuality, though, her boar was controlled by the moblin on top of the boar next to her. The moblin watched her curiously. His raggedy blue pointed ears twitched, and clicky shrieky noises left his mouth.

"Huh?" Melody grinned at the moblin. "What's your name?"

"Rraaaah?"

"Don't talk to it, Melody," Ilia said.

"Why?"

The moblin made a repetitive noise. "Krakrak."

Melody ignored Ilia and turned back to the moblin. "Krakrak? Is that your name?"

The moblin sat up proudly.

"Cool! Ilia, did you know regular moblins had names?"

"N-no, I didn't manage to learn that last time."

Melody flipped to a boar on the other side of her. "Hey!" she grinned at the green, short, rotund monster. "What's YOUR name?"

At first he seemed surprised, then he said, "Gropkick."

Melody grinned from ear to ear. "Awesome! Well I'm Melody, as you probably know—my papa's famous!" Then she frowned. "Aaaah, but I want a moblin name, too!"

"You will."

Melody turned to Krakrak. "Huh?"

"You will get moblin name," Krakrak continued. "Moblin get name from sound of first destruction. You get strong, then destroy big thing, get very good name."

Melody hopped in her seat. "Awesome, I can't wait! Hey, where are we going anyway, guys?"

Gropkick sputtered in his speed to answer. "Home! We go home! Not you home, I home!"

"How do you say 'home' in moblin?"

Chest puffing out, Gropkick replied, "Korfka."

"Ooh! Okay, let's go to Korfka!" She pumped a fist in the air.

Krakrak followed the gesture, and gave a mighty shriek. Gropkick growled in agreement.

Ilia shivered.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" Melody held the kabob as far away from her as possible. On it were pieces of blackened meat.

They had stopped for the night, and now she, Gropkick, and Krakrak sat around a fire. Ilia sat there, too. The two moblins seemed confused at her outcry, although Gropkick seemed to think it was a battle cry, and at first answered it—until Krakrak smacked him on his helmeted head with a _clonk_.

Ilia took the kabob from her and sniffed it. "It's okay. You can eat this. It's just boar."

"They eat their boars?"

"Yes."

But all Melody had to say about it was, "Weird," before taking the kabob back and biting into it. "Mmmmm!"

Ilia's face turned green. The thought that came into her head was herself enjoying a piece of . . . well . . . Epona. She tried not to throw up.

"King Bulblin say," said Krakrak, "that we eat boar because human eat boar and Hylian eat boar."

"Unless they're vegetarian," Ilia responded.

"Do moblins eat vegetables?" Melody asked?

Krakrak stuck out his tongue. "Yeerk."

Gropkick bounced in his seat. "Yum yum pumpkin!"

"You and stupid pumpkin patch . . ."

Melody brightened. "Oh! Gropkick, do you have a pumpkin patch at, er, Korfka?"

Gropkick nodded.

"Can I see it when we get there?"

Gropkick's head almost disappeared into his shoulders as he shrank, then nodded shyly.

"Yay!"

He was well-composed when awake, but Krakrak was a terrible snorer. Melody lay on her sleeping pad and stared up at the stars, which were quickly disappearing into the pinkish light of sunrise. Bokoblins were nocturnal. She wasn't sure about moblins or goblins or . . . well, whatever Gropkick was. A bulbin? He was green like King Bulblin. Maybe they just slept when they felt like it? Ilia slept near her.

Melody put her arms behind her head. Even though she'd already been awake all night while traveling, she couldn't sleep. She was finally starting to feel the nerves come up her throat about the whole situation. When would she get to go home? Could she at least visit?

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She sat up and got out of her blanket. Then she stepped lightly over the sleeping moblins until she reached the large, shuddering form of King Bulblin. She kicked his massive body, his flesh jiggling with a sound to match. "Hey! Wake up, Mr. King Bulblin."

The bulbin king sat up suddenly, and so did about twenty moblins, and suddenly they were all up, holding swords and looking around for trouble. Melody felt herself grabbed from behind and pulled back several paces, and suddenly four bokoblins stood between her and their king, haphazard blades held at her chest.

It had been a moblin that had pulled her back. The big, red monstrosity towered over her, his grip still pulling the shoulder of her dress. "Dude, Porkfic, right? Lemme go."

The moblin started in surprise, then did so.

The four bokoblins in front of her did not look so cooperative, and in fact Porkfic had turned his own spears on them, barking at them to lower their weapons. She felt her insides beginning to churn. She decided staying next to Porkfic was a good idea.

"Melody? Melody!" Ilia's footsteps ran through the camp, but one of the four bokoblins threatened her with a spear to keep her back. She glared at the monster before again stepping forward.

The same bokoblin pulled his spear back, prepared to skewer Ilia right then and there, when suddenly a giant green hand grabbed his head from behind and lifted him on the ground. The hand belonged to King Bulblin, who then proceeded to roar loudly and angrily into the bokoblin's face before throwing him over his head. The bokoblin landed in a crumpled mess several yards away.

A harsh yell reached their ears and a green flash landed in front of Ilia and Melody.

It was Link.

He swung his sword at the remaining bokoblins, disarming them immediately. To Melody's surprise, King Bulblin and others helped him, and soon all four of the bokoblins were shivering on the ground, held back by the rest of King Bulblin's forces.

Once it was over, Link's sword flashed in the morning light and steadied itself right against King Bulblin's neck. "You _lied_ to me. You said they'd be safe!"

Melody's mouth fell open. Of course her father had followed them. She chaffed a little in annoyance, but she was actually quite glad to see him.

"I thought they would." King Bulblin responded calmly. He turned his head to one of the cowering attacking bokoblins. "It would seem some of my people are not as _loyal_ as I thought. Your daughter woke us up just in time to catch these traitors, who were apparently trying to murder me in my sleep."

Melody felt a surge of pride. She'd saved the bulbin king?!

Link slowly lowered his sword, eyebrows crossed. "A mutiny?"

King Bulblin nodded. "From my own personal guards. This I did not expect." He turned serious eyes on Link. "I only hope your people are far more loyal than these-" he made a disgusted noise "-for my Nanaco's sake."

Link nodded. "I'll send word for him to be guarded by my most trusted fellows."

"This is very bad," King Bulblin continued. He barked commands, and soon everyone in the camp began gathering their things to stand in line.

Link turned to Melody. "Well, what have you to say after a day in this nuthouse?"

"It's been great! Well, aside from the last bit. But Papa, I saved King Bulblin!"

Her father seemed taken aback by her enthusiasm.

With the danger over, as far as she could tell, her annoyance was bubbling to the surface, and she crossed her arms. "Were you watching me this _whole time?_ "

"Yes, and don't you expect an apology."

Melody let her arms drop and clenched her fists. "So not only does Ilia have to babysit me, my own FATHER won't let me out of his sight?!"

"Melody," Link said, a tinge of anger in his voice, "You are WAY too young and inexperienced to be on this adventure, which I just PROVED by saving your life!"

"YOU didn't save my life! Porkfic did! He pulled me out of there! You are SO WRONG about the moblins, Papa! SO WRONG!"

"Now listen, young lady-!"

"NO! You were TEN when you went on your first adventure, that's FOUR YEARS younger than I am! I can do this! I WANT to do this! And you CAN'T STOP ME!"

Link had shut up, not because he agreed, but because he couldn't counter what she said logically. He had been ten on his first adventure, and his kids had heard the stories their whole lives, heard his deeds lauded and praised. He pointed at himself. "Do you think I _liked_ it? Do you think it was good for me?! Well let me tell you a secret, Melody."

Melody had never seen her father's eyes look like _that_. They were so wild, and alert.

"I have _nightmares_. Horrible ones. I get eaten, ripped apart, smashed, beaten, _I die._ Every night. Sometimes I get afraid for no reason and all I can do is sit in bed all day! You know why you can't make sudden noises in the house? Because I'd JUMP. I'd think there was a monster and go blind with rage. That's why the swords at our house are locked up. It's NOT just to protect you kids from them. It's to protect YOU from ME, because I got so used to being alone that I can't even FATHOM the people near me being anything but monsters! Is THAT what you want to become?!"

Melody's stomach had dropped out from under her. She felt tears at the corners of her eyes. She had seen that Papa, but only from a distance. Was it really so bad?

"You are NOT alone," Link continued, "You have a mother and father that love you, and I will NEVER let you end up like me if there is anything I can do to prevent it."

The first giant tear fell, then another, and suddenly Melody ran forward and wrapped her arms around her father's chest and cried horribly into his tunic. Link gathered her up in his arms immediately and tried to keep his own eyes dry, and failing. He ran his fingers through his daughter's hair. His beautiful, precious daughter.

After a few minutes, she pulled away from him. "But Papa, you promised."

"What?"

She sniffed. "You promised. You told King Bulblin that I would go live with the moblins and Nanaco would live with the Hylians. You can't go back on your word . . ."

"I'll figure something out."

Melody was silent for a moment. "I really wanted to see Gropkick's pumpkin patch."

". . . Gropkick?"

"Yeah! He's a bulbin friend I made. Also Krakrak."

"You know their . . . names?"

She nodded. She started telling Link about everything she'd learned about the moblins the previous night, everything they ate, everything they did. Eventually Link even met Gropkick, Porkfic, and Krakrak, because her 'friends' wanted to know if she was alright. They eyed Link warily and kept a safe distance, though.

Ilia also came up to check on Melody, and then stood next to her, an arm thrown protectively around her.

"Link!" King Bulblin approached then. "I have a new proposition for you."

"Papa wants me to go home," Melody informed him, putting Link on the spot. "I really want to help the moblins, Papa, isn't there something I can do?"

King Bulblin looked at Link. Link looked back. "I don't want her to go. She's too young."

All the nearby moblins looked at him oddly. One piped up, "She older than you were."

That irked Link. _Don't encourage her!_ He wanted to scream. He hoped grabbed the hilt of his sword tightly was message enough.

It was.

"The agreement still stands," King Bulblin said carefully. When Link began to protest, he waved a hand to silence him. "Among our people, she would have already found a mate and been an adult three years."

Link sputtered, "Yeah, THAT doesn't make me feel better!"

"I am NOT getting married!" Melody yelled, and Link was glad they finally agreed on something.

"We would not expect her to. We fully plan on treating her the same as you do, as far as we are able."

"I'm sorry, King Bulblin," said Link, "I still don't like it."

King Bulblin grumbled in displeasure. He took a few steps forward and stared down at Link. "Do you trust my honor, Hero?"

Eyes slitting, Link considered. "Only as long as I'm winning."

King Bulblin loomed even more over him, teeth glinting. "Then I _guess_ you should start focusing on _winning_." He stepped back. "This is very bad. These four cannot be the only ones. If there are others who are listening to _his_ voice, then we will have to fight our own. They may already be readying for attack. For that reason, you will need protection at your ranch, and also Ordon, and all other places as soon as possible."

Link nodded. "Isn't it true, King Bulblin, that you really aren't in a position to make demands?"

King Bulblin glared at him distrustfully.

"After all, without _our_ help, you might just get wiped off the face of the earth, either by your old god or your fellows who follow him. Isn't that right?"

Again, King Bulblin snarled.

"If that's the case . . . I see no reason to honor my agreement with you concerning my daughter."

A flash of real sadness crossed his eyes. "You . . . are correct. With this internal strife, I am not certain we could survive on our own. We would rather leave our home than battle our brothers and sisters. We are again at your mercy, Hero."

Melody could feel the weight pressing down on all of the moblins. They had spend countless generations being led and manipulated by vicious sorcerers and gods, given so much of themselves only to be left in the dirt. She left Ilia's side and tugged on her father's sleeve. "Papa?"

"Hm?" Link kept his eyes trained on King Bulblin.

Melody cleared her throat, then took one step closer to King Bulblin and held her hands clasped in front of her. "King Bulblin, I know you've only known me a day or so, but I've already found so many friends among your people, and I want them to be safe, and I hope you believe me. When I'm an adult, I will definitely come visit you all." She heard Link beginning to protest, but she ignored him. "And I promise, I will do everything I can to make sure the moblins have a place in Hyrule after this is all over. I _promise_."

She felt some of the weight being lifted, and saw many of the moblins relax a little bit. The change startled Link, who hadn't continued his protest from the middle of Melody's speech. King Bulblin crouched down and regarded Melody thoughtfully. "A promise given without wanting one in return is a great promise indeed. Are you sure you wish to make such a promise?"

"Melody," she heard her father begin.

She put her hands on her hips. "Well, _duh_. That's why I promised!"

King Bulblin nodded. "Very well then. We shall put our faith not in Hyrule's Hero, but in you, little she Hylian."

Melody grinned. She danced over to her moblin friends. "Do you want to come with me?"

Krakrak tilted his head, Gropkick did that thing where his head became part of his torso, and Porkfic just seemed surprised to be included. One by one they looked at each other, then at King Bulblin, and then with surprising confidence, all nodded.

Melody clapped her hands together. "Yes! I'm very excited!"

Link decided he needed to get her away from here before she ended up adopting the entire camp. "Melody, it's time to go home."

She spun around. "I'm not going home. I'm going to Aunt Zelda's. I'm going to help Nanaco learn about Hyrule, and then we're going to work together to save the moblins!"

The look she was giving him told him she was not of a mind to do anything else, and remembering exactly whose daughter she was (his, and more importantly, Malon's), decided that was as close to a compromise as he was going to get. Plus, he was tired and just wanted to get this conversation over with and get his daughter _somewhere_ that wouldn't give him a heart attack. "Alright, but let's get going, okay?"

She finally deflated and had the decency to look as tired as she ought to after being up as long as she had. "Okay . . ."

"Ilia?"

Ilia was standing near, a worried expression on her face. It cleared when Link called her name. "What is it, Link?"

"Are you alright?"

She nodded. "I'm . . . honestly a bit glad. I'm not sure what Father would have done if I didn't arrive home safely. I'm in your debt again."

"Pfft. Hardly." He turned to King Bulblin. "You can trust that no harm will come to Nanaco. As long as he is with us, he will be safe."

King Bulblin nodded, but he did not seem very grateful. "I will send soldiers to protect the fields as we agreed." As he turned away, he looked back and said, "I will remember that you broke your word, Hero."

Hoping he hadn't done permanent damage to their people's relations, Link nodded in return. "I hope one day you'll forgive the insanity of a Hylian father."

"If Hylian parents are insane, then we are all doomed." King Bulblin turned his back on Link and approached his bulbo. All the moblins mounted their boars, and except for Krakrak, Gropkick and Porkfic, they all galloped off across the field.

Link and Ilia stared at the three remaining moblins. The moblins stared back from atop their boars. Krakrak was holding the reigns of a third bulbo, apparently for Melody. Link whistled for Epona, who came running soon thereafter. "Papa!" Melody cried. "I want to ride the boar!"

"I'd prefer to _not_ ," Ilia admitted.

"Papa, Papa, you HAVE to ride with me!"

A wry smile broke across Link's face. "Well, it HAS been a while since I rode one of those."

And so, Ilia riding Epona the Second, Link and Melody and the moblins riding boars, they made their way back to Hyrule Castle. Not ten minutes into the ride, Link realized Melody, who sat in front of him, was snoring.

She was asleep.

On top of a galloping boar.

 _You really WOULD fit in with the moblins, wouldn't you?_ He thought.


	15. Chapter 14

AN: What? Another Link chapter?! Yes, but I PROMISE the next one is a Shadow chapter!

* * *

Present Daddy:

Link raced to Hyrule Castle at breakneck speed. He had to tell Princess Zelda about his communication with Saria. Epona hardly needed pushing—her ears were erect, facing forward, and she could sense Link's need to move quickly. The guards atop the wall saw them coming and barely lowered the drawbridge in time. As it was, Epona leaped onto the bridge before it touched ground, and slid down and landed harshly on the cobblestones. Link didn't like riding Epona on stone, since it tended to damage her hooves, but at this point he couldn't have stopped the mare even if he tried.

They made it to the castle in record time. Link didn't wait for Epona to stop before leaping off her and charging through the front doors. He had never run faster in his life. Zelda would not be in the throne room at this time of night. Or was it morning? But when he reached the living area of the castle, he found the whole place in an uproar. Chmabermaids were flying to and fro, carrying pans of warm water and towels. Link stopped a middle-aged woman carrying towels. "What's going on?"

"The princess went into labor!"

A metaphorical bucket of water splashed Link over the head. His next thoughts came in a flash. Zelda was having her baby? There was no way she could listen to him right now . . . Malon nor Shadow had told him a lot of her previous delivery, but he knew well enough that it had been difficult. He also knew that Shadow had been at her side the entire time, but Shadow was nowhere to be found right now. _Zelda must be terrified._

Link asked the chambermaid, "Has the doctor been called?"

"Yes, and the midwife!"

"Good!" Link charged down the hall to Zelda's room, from which he could hear her cries already.

Impa was outside, having just come out, and held out a hand with widened eyes as Link approached. "WHOA, there Hero. The princess is in a very exposed position right now."

Link's eyes bulged out of his head and he rose his hands to the air. "I'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS FOUR—no— **FIVE TIMES!** DO YOU REALLY THINK THERE'S ANYTHING I HAVEN'T SEEN?!" He walked past Impa and through the door, leaving the Sheikahn woman bemused.

Zelda lay on her back on her bed, propped up with pillows, surrounded by nurses, the doctor, and the midwife. Impa came in behind him. Link rushed to Zelda's side. Zelda's eyes were scrunched closed, her fists clutching the bed covers underneath her. "Zelda?"

Her eyes snapped open suddenly and turned to him. "Sh-Shadow?"

Link froze. Her eyes suddenly half closed in utter disappointment. "Oh. It's just you." Link took no offense. "Oh, Link, I don't know if I can do this . . ."

He pried her hand from the covers and held it. "Of course you can, you're the Princess of Destiny!"

Zelda squeezed his hand gratefully. "But all the other Princesses of Destiny DIED in childbirth!"

"Not all of them, and besides, you're no _ordinary_ Princess of Destiny. You've fought Ganon TWICE."

"If you say so, Mr. Hero!"

Of course he said so. There was no way he'd leave Zelda alone, even if he hadn't cared for her as much as his sister. Shadow was like a brother to him, and Link KNEW his reflection would hate that he missed this and would feel like a failure for not being here. Link HAD to fill in, as best he could. "I'll be here the whole time, Zelda, don't you worry. You just . . . _ouch_ . . . yes, just grab my hand as tightly as you want!"

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH! LINK!"

"Yes, yes, I'm here."

She glanced at him. "I had . . . _urgh!_ . . . a vision."

"Saria? The sages?"

Surprised, she nodded.

"Yeah, me too."

"Oh Link, I'm so sorry."

Link's mouth opened and shut several times incredulously. "Zelda! STOP FEELING BAD ABOUT YOURSELF AND HAVE YOUR BABY!"

A small smile graced Zelda's face, barely visible. She went back to focusing on the delivery, Link shaking his head at her, hoping he had fully dissuaded any and all negativity about THAT.

It was a close contest, Link thought. Who gripped harder, Zelda or Malon? OOF! Zelda . . . No, Malon. ACK! . . . definitely Zelda. Thoughts of the twins' delivery crossed his mind. No way. DEFINITELY Malon . . .

It was fully morning, almost afternoon, Zelda had been in labor fourteen hours, when a baby's cry filled the room. The doctor seemed greatly relieved. "It's a boy!"

Zelda, even as exhausted as she was, managed to look at the doctor in confusion. "What?"

The doctor handed the bundled baby to Link, who carefully carried him to Zelda. Link grinned like an idiot. "He IS a boy! You have a boy!"

Link recognized the wonder in Zelda's face as she took her baby in her arms. She stared at the tiny little face silently for a moment, then addressed him directly. "You told me you were gonna be a little girl!" She felt something from the baby, something like a knowing feeling. Was that a tiny satisfied grin on his face, or did she just imagine it? Half her nose crinkled as one side of her mouth quirked up. "You little Sheik."


	16. Chapter 15

Soundtrack suggestion: Tumbleweed Town—Brandon Fiechter

* * *

Shadow and Sashira had just reached the place where the battle had been before. Zelly was hanging out in Shadow's . . . shadow, having turned _herself_ into a shadow, to escape the heat.

Ikana territory in the daytime was completely different than at night. For one, there were no bodies from the night before, which was a relief.

But that wasn't the only odd thing.

There was a house. A small, square house with a waterwheel. Shadow was sure it hadn't been there last night, although it had been dark. On the roof were giant, ridiculous looking horns, three of them of different sizes, spinning round and round, out of which came a cheerful, waltzy tune. A small stream ran through the waterwheel, which apparently powered the music, and around the stream was grass and weeds. Someone had even cultivated a small garden a few paces away from the house. The stream ran over the cliff, at the base of which was the river he'd heard. "What is that place?"

"I don't know," Sashira answered. "A man and his daughter live there, but I'm not sure how, or why."

"Were they here last night?"

"Of course." Her eyebrows crossed. She had that strange, feverish look in her eyes again. "They . . . must have been."

They walked around the house, and sure enough, there was a little girl with brown hair and freckles in a pink dress and orange shoes and green stockings. She looked up as they came around the corner, and suddenly ran up the steps to her house and disappeared inside, slamming the door behind her.

"She does that," said Sashira. The Zelda-like Garo was headed for the river, as if not giving the strange house another thought.

"But, haven't you ever knocked?" Shadow asked.

Sashira turned around, her cheeks flushed red. "Knocked? What is that?"

"You've . . . never used a door before, have you?"

She shook her head and turned away.

"Sashira, wait!" He caught up to her. "Why don't we knock?"

"I don't know what that means!"

"Let them know we're here, maybe talk to them . . . maybe they'll know something that can help me."

"I'm not staying on Ikana land longer than I have to! My father is waiting, probably really angry that I'm missing. And besides," the flush returned to her cheeks. "The man who lives in there is . . . very strange."

"You've met him?"

"Well . . . no . . . he's only seen me from a distance." She made a derisive noise. "He's some kind of 'scientist.' He thinks Ikana is full of ghosts!" She laughed. "As if!"

Shadow looked at her oddly, thinking of how everyone at Ikana Castle had disappeared. "Well . . . you can leave if you want to. I'm very grateful to you for all your help, and I'm extremely sorry about . . . you getting captured and everything. If there's anything I can do—"

"Nope! I'll be fine." She suddenly scurried off and leaped behind a rock at the edge of the valley.

"O . . . kay," said Shadow. He looked down at his shadow, put his hands on his hips and leaned over. "Hey, Zelly, can you come out now? We're going to try to meet some people."

Zelly obliged. A shadowy little girl rose from the shadow, then the shadowy features fell away and Zelly stood there, grinning at her father. She reached up quickly and bopped his nose. "Gotcha!" Then made her chase him to the door of the house, where she stood bouncing up and down. "There was a little girl! Do you think she wants to play?"

Shadow grinned. "Maybe, but Zelly . . . try not to do any shadow stuff around them."

"Why?"

"Most people don't know about those powers and might be scared."

"Why?"

"Because we look scary as shadows."

"Why?"

"Because normal people don't disappear into shadows and travel really fast."

"But why, Daddy?"

Shadow's shoulders slumped. He heard footsteps behind the door. Apparently the little girl had alerted her father to the newcomers. "Just don't do it, okay?" he barely got out before the front door opened. A strange man peeked out, then screamed, then slammed the door.

" _Sheesh! I didn't realize they were so close!_ "

" _I told you, Daddy!_ "

"Uh, hello?" Shadow called. "My name's Shadow, and this is my daughter Zelly. We'd sure like to talk to you, if you could open the door?"

The door cracked open again. "Oh, they're not ghosts, Pamela," the man said, sounding quite pleased, "they're regular people like you and me." He opened the door fully. "Hello! Shadow, right?" He had an abnormally large nose and a long face. He had red hair with a receding hairline in a pompadour style, and wore a lab coat. Underneath that, he wore a blue and white striped t shirt and green pants. Peeking out from behind him was the same little girl from before, Pamela.

"Right!" Shadow put his hands on Zelly's shoulders. "We're just passing through, but thought we'd stop to say hello."

"My word!" The man leaned toward Shadow a bit, which made Shadow lean back. "You look JUST like the books describe Ikanans! Are you from around here?"

"Ah, no, not at all," Shadow answered. _I don't think . . ._ "We're from a place called Hyrule. Have you heard of it?" he added hopefully.

"Hmm, no, I'm afraid not. Far away, is it?"

"Apparently so."

The man tilted his head thoughtfully. "I'm Anton by the way." He held out a hand, which Shadow shook. "I'm researching all the paranormal activity around here. Mummies, gibdos, even ghosts! This place is crawling with them."

"I noticed."

Anton brightened. "Really?! You're the first one to believe me. Do come inside, let's have tea!"

"Daddy," whispered Pamela. "That lady is out there again . . ."

Anton glanced at his daughter, then looked to where she pointed. So did Shadow and Zelly. Sashira was peeking from behind a rock. The same one she'd leaped behind. _I guess she didn't leave_ , Shadow thought. Just as they all looked, however, her head disappeared as she ducked.

"OH!" Anton cried. "Excuse me, Shadow, I must look into something." He hurried around Shadow and Zelly and down the steps. He ran a few feet, then skidded to a halt and then slowly stepped closer to the rock. He put his hands around his mouth. "Hello? Excuse me, I've seen you around here before, but you never want to come and talk to me! I promise I mean you no harm!"

Shadow left Zelly with Pamela and walked over to Anton. The two girls looked each other over curiously.

"Do please come out!" Anton called.

Shadow tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Sashira! You can come out."

Anton looked at him sharply. "You know her?!"

"Only a little bit. We met yesterday."

"I KNEW IT! She's NOT a ghost! But then, what is she?" He took a few steps closer. "Sashira! My name's Anton! I'd just like to get to know you. I'm sure you know all about this valley, and I'm _dying_ to find out more! I promise I just want to talk."

A dark-haired head slowly appeared above the rock again, and Sashira called out, "Are you aligned with Ikana?"

"Oh!" Anton said quietly in surprise. "What a lovely voice." Louder, he called, "Haha! I should think not! Ikana has been abandoned for hundreds of years!"

Now Shadow was very confused. So, last night, this place had been overrun with loin-clothed, masked warriors and hooded ninjas, and in the daytime it was like those people had not existed. For hundreds of years.

Sashira slowly stood and walked around the rock. Her blue eyes were wary, but curious. She had her mask pulled up over her mouth and nose, and she had drawn her saber.

Anton had to rein himself back before he could run forward in his excitement. "You . . . you're a Garo, aren't you? How long have you been here?"

She seemed entirely uncomfortable, but answered, "My whole life."

"I know it's rude to act for a specific age of a lady, but, roundabouts how many years is that, two hundred? Three hundred?" He seemed to think she was an undead creature.

Sashira shook her head in confusion. "Twenty-six years."

Anton's mouth hung open, then he collected himself. "Do you mind if . . . if I come closer?"

She shrugged.

Anton carefully walked forward until he stood just two feet away, examining her eyes. "You're not . . ." he whispered. "You're not dead, are you?" It was almost a statement.

Sashira snorted, looking away from him. "Of course not."

Anton held out a hand curiously. Sashira hesitated, then placed her hand on his. He regarded it for a long moment, at the smooth, living flesh. "I . . ." he raised his eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sashira."

"Hmm."

"Would you please come inside?"

She pulled her hand from his. "What if the Ikanans arrive?"

"Oh don't worry! My music box keeps all the ghosts out!"

Sashira didn't seem to be processing the conversation well. She seemed lost, and her eyes again had that strange, feverish quality.

Shadow had now become convinced that everything that had happened to them last night had been . . . some sort of spiritual experience? He remembered Link telling him that Ikana was haunted. That the people there had been cursed to fight for eternity. What if that's what was going on? In the day, there were the gibdos and redeads, but at night . . . at night the spirits came alive to fight each other once more.

And Sashira had absolutely no idea. " _They come out at night. We have to hurry_."

Shadow had a horrific thought. If all the people in Ikana Valley were dead, and Sashira wasn't . . . how long had she been alone, with only ghosts for company? Suddenly the fevered look in her eyes made sense.

" _My whole life._ "

Her whole life. Somehow Sashira had managed to survive on her own in Ikana for her _entire life_. She had never had interactions with living people outside of him and Zelly and, now, Anton the scientist.

"It's okay, Sashira." Shadow pointed at the sky. "There're still hours before nightfall. You can come visit and still be back in Garo territory before the Ikanans come."

Anton gave him a quizzical expression, but forgot about it because Sashira nodded her head and said, "Al- . . . Alright."


	17. Chapter 16

AN: Finally some action!

* * *

Ilia was the last one to make it to Ordon Spring. She closed the gates and Fado helped her with the lock. They fumbled with it before finally getting it to lock, then they backed away from the gate. It didn't take long before the darkness came into sight, slowly creeping its way to the edge of the gate. It was still quite far off, but Ilia could hear the shriveling of the plants and animals in its path. She only hoped she had been right, and the Ordon spring, which housed the Light Guardian of their province, would protect them. There was no way they could outrun the darkness on foot. None of the goats had escaped the darkness, and Epona the First was old. Ilia looked behind her and surveyed the villagers who had made it. Beth, thankfully, with her newborn baby. Fado the goatherd, Beth's mother Sera, her father-in-law Jaggle, and finally Uli and her daughter Linna and son Colin, who had returned with her from Hyrule Castle. Uli's husband, Rusl, was off on Resistance duty.

Ilia was grateful so many of them had made it, but her heart hurt for the ones who were . . . who were . . .

"Ilia!" Beth shrieked, pointing at the gate. Ilia flipped around. Beyond the gate was a figure cloaked in a smoky darkness. Purple lines, like veins, covered the figure from head to toe. It was human in shape. A single yellow eyeball stared widely at her from the center of the thing's forehead. On its legs from the knees down, the purple lines created an argyle pattern.

"Oh, Shad," Ilia whispered, her eyes tearing up.

The darkness had appeared at the very center of town and of course the scholar had gone to investigate. The darkness had overtaken him and he'd become . . . that _thing_. Then he'd attacked Talo, Beth's husband, and then her father, Bo, both of whom also became purple-veined, one-eyed monsters. It was not unlike the Twilight monsters from her past, but different all the same. The monster who was Shad got close to the gate, staring through the gaps at the people hiding inside. Ilia heard the villagers behind her making nervous noises, but she stood her ground, clenching her fists to keep them from shaking. If Shad was able to come in here, then he would have to also get through her before attacking the villagers. She had no idea what she could possibly do, but she couldn't think of anything else . . .

The Shad monster walked the length of the gate, reaching out but never touching it. Then an unrealistically large, jagged mouth opened, lined with orange light, and Shad roared, a horrible sound that froze Ilia in place. But Shad remained outside the gate. Ilia allowed herself a small sigh of relief. Behind Shad appeared the large, cursed form of her father, and then Talo's. They both joined Shad, and the darkness they exuded seemed to weigh on the gate, until finally Shad lifted his hands curled his fingers around the top of the gate.

The villagers gasped in terror, and Ilia cringed. She heard footsteps next to her. "Get out of here!" Fado shouted at the creatures. Mayor Bo roared in reply.

 _Ilia . . ._

Ilia looked around before realizing the voice had come from the spring. "Who's there?"

 _I am Ordona . . . Light Guardian of the Ordon Province . . . my light cannot fight against this darkness . . . it is an old, ancient magic, one which I cannot control. Although I will ultimately fail, I will guard your people as long as I can . . ._

Her gut dropped out. "Colin!" She huddled up with Fado and Colin. "Um, so the spirit just told me it can't protect us."

Colin's face fell. "Then we're doomed! We can't run! And even if we could, the way's blocked!"

"What about the Bridge?" Fado asked. "Maybe if we got across it, the big cliff would hold them for a while?"

"That might work, but how would we distract them?" Ilia asked.

Colin's face became serious, and he opened his mouth, but Fado spoke before he did. "I'll do it."

"What?!"

"I'll go out the secret way and get their attention. After I do, you get the villagers out and _run for it!_ "

"I'll help you!" Colin said.

Fado put a hand on his shoulder. "No, man, you gotta make sure your mom makes it out."

"Fado . . ." Colin handed him his sword.

Fado ran to the secret tunnel on the left side of the spring. Ilia ran after him. "Fado, wait!" She fumbled around her neck and pulled out a carved goat horn. It was carved into a flute. "I noticed they hated the sound."

"Thanks," Fado said as he took it, then crawled into the cramped space. Ilia rushed back to the villagers and whispered her instructions. They waited until they heard a, "HEEEEEEY! Over here, you crazy goats!"

Bo, and Talo looked up, and Talo went to investigate. Mayor Bo looked like he might follow, but Shad seemed unmoved.

 _Come on . . . please!_

They heard the shrill sounds of a flute, and a cry from Talo, then Bo did follow. "HEY! HEY! HEY!" Fado kept shouting and blowing on the flute until finally Shad left the gate.

Ilia sprinted to the gate as quietly as she could, and as soon as Shad's back disappeared, she unlocked the gate and hissed, "Everyone, go!"

The villagers filed out and began jogging toward Ordon Bridge. The last one left the spring when Shad looked back. He shrieked and made his way back, but suddenly there was a bright flash from the spring, and Ilia realized Ordona was using the last of his light magic to stop Shad. She ran.

The flash only lasted a few seconds. Fado's yelling ceased, and she bit back her tears. The other villagers were already half across the bridge. Colin was waiting for Ilia, a knife in his hand. She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him along, but he waved her off. "GO! I've got this!"

She ran across the bridge. Colin waited until the other villagers made it all the way across before beginning to knife the ropes that held the bridge. One, two . . . Ilia finally made it across. By then the monsters, now four, were almost to the bridge. Colin knifed the last two ropes. Fado leaped at him, and Colin jumped, grabbing onto the bridge as it fell and swung to the other side. It slammed harshly into the other side of the cliff, and Colin was almost forced to let go.

"COLIN!" Ilia yelled. She turned to the others. "Get going to the field!" Uli and Linna hesitated, but finally listened.

Colin began climbing up the bridge. Ilia looked across the chasm. The Fado monster was at the bottom of the chasm, hanging to the side like some kind of lizard. The other monsters were standing in darkness, which now was spreading over the edge of the cliff. The rate at which is was moving seemed impossibly fast. _We're . . . we're not going to make it!_ She pushed the uncertainty aside and held her hand out for Colin, who grabbed it and together they pulled him up. The darkness had reached the bottom of the chasm and was moving fast to the their side. They ran as fast as they could.


	18. Chapter 17

**AN: I PROMISE last chapter's cliff hanger will be resolved in two chapters, maybe less~ I can't believe I've turned into one of those authors that leaves her characters at cliffhangers a lot! ACK! Hopefully I haven't done it too much . . .**

* * *

Chapter 17

Saria and Vaati had spent the last few days testing every spot of the castle with Zelda's Lullaby. The reason it took so many days was 1. The castle was _huge_ , and 2. Saria found quickly that you couldn't just rush the song and get it over with. You had to play it correctly, note for note, at a decent tempo. Apparently the goddesses had no patience for shoddy music.

Do you know how long it takes to test every single square inch of a gigantic castle, while avoiding the two elder denizens, while waiting for Vaati to sneak food to you, when you've only got ONE ocarina, and you HAVE to play the song at least THREE TIMES in front of each piece of wall to make sure you played it right?

"AAAAAUGH!" Saria yelled at yet another unresponsive piece of wall.

"Sh!" Vaati said. "How do we even know this song works?"

"IT WORKS."

"SHHH!"

Saria groaned and stomped to the next section of wall. "Okay, mark it, this is the last wall we'll check for today . . ."

Vaati waved his hand at the wall just beyond where she stood, and it glowed pink for two seconds.

Taking a deep breath, Saria lifted the ocarina to her lips. As the last note echoed through the hall, Vaati and Saria stared at the wall for over a minute, as if waiting for a spectacular fireworks show.

Of course, there was none.

Saria threw the ocarina into the air. Vaati caught it with wind magic. "Hey, careful!"

"This is NOT working!" Saria slumped and leaned against the wall—

—and fell right through it.

"What! Saria, where'd you go?" Vaati tried to follow her, but the wall had become solid again. Trying to quell the panic in his heart, he cried, "Saria!"

A rushing sound reached his ears, and he jumped away from the wall instinctively. A purple tornado came from around a corner and whizzed past. It turned into a spinning sorcerer with gold horns. " _Juuuuuunioooooor~_ "

Vaati forced his mouth into an unearthly grin. "H-hi Dad! Whatcha doin' here?"

Mr. Vaati stopped spinning and pointed at himself, fangs glinting. "Meeeeeeee?!" He hopped over on light feet and clapped his clawed hands over his cheeks. With the white face and black marks under his red eyes, he looked truly frightening. "What are YOU doing, junior?! You've been magicking walls every day now, and there's been LIGHT magic." He grabbed Vaati's cheek and pulled on it. "Has my little boy been messing with Light Magic?"

"Ubb-wub-wub," Vaati tried to speak, but it was difficult with your dad pulling your cheek. When Mr. Vaati finally let go, Vaati rubbed his offended skin. "Geez, Dad, why do you seem so happy about it?"

" _Haaappy?_ " His grin got even creepier. "Am I wearing my 'happy' face?"

"Uh . . . yeah. The creepy one where your pupils are slits? And you float a foot off the ground?"

Mr. Vaati glanced at his feet, which were _not_ connected to the ground. He remedied that. "So I am!" He exclaimed joyfully.

"Seriously, Dad, I was just playing with my new ocarina."

"I KNEW IT!" Mr. Vaati returned to floating and grabbed his son and twirled him around in the air. "WHEEEEEEEEEE!"

"ACK! ACK! DAD, PUT ME DOWNNNNNN!"

Vaati wobbled on the ground once his father put him down.

"I'm so happy, happy!" Mr. Vaati was saying rhythmically, clapping his hands. "I was so worried, worried!"

"W-worried?" asked Vaati, spinning around one more time trying to keep his balance. He put a hand out to grab a wall for support, and ended up miscalculating the distance and instead falling down and smacking his face on the stone floor. Grumbling, he rose to his hands and knees. " _Worried?_ Worried _why?_ "

Mr. Vaati used his magic to put Vaati back firmly on his feet and blotted his bleeding nose with magic. "I was worried you'd been corrupted like everyone else in this blasted place and couldn't even _do_ light magic."

"W-what?" Vaati batted his father's hands away when the large dunderhead tried to brush down his clothes.

"You grew up in this awful place, and I was worried it had affected your ability to live in the Light World!"

Vaati got a bad feeling. "What do you mean, Dad?"

"What, have I never bragged about it? When I was your age I could do all KINDS of magic: elemental, spiritual, black, white, dark, _light_." He looked at the ceiling dreamily, raising his hands to it and walking along the hall.

"And . . . if I couldn't do Light magic . . ."

His father spun around to face him. "You wouldn't be able to leave this realm. Well. At least not for long, not without your grandfather's power. You'd be trapped under his thumb forever!"

Vaati wasn't sure why, but the sick feeling in his stomach got worse. _But that wasn't ME doing light magic, that was Saria!_

"Now," said Mr. Vaati, hovering close again, hands clasped before him. He grabbed Vaati's hands and the ocarina and lifted them up. "Show me what you were doing, my dear boy."

Vaati paled. "B-but why do you care if I can live in the Light World without Grandpa Bellum's help?"

Mr. Vaati's face said he wasn't going to answer, so Vaati took the ocarina and prayed he didn't get into even more trouble. He hadn't actually played his ocarina yet, but he had seen Saria play Zelda's Lullaby so many times . . . his hands trembled so much, it took him several restarts and retries before he got the song right.

Heat filled his hands, which soon became white hot. Vaati cried out and dropped the ocarina. It fell out of his hands, and Mr. Vaati let it crash into a million pieces on the ground. Vaati stared at his hands, red and painful. "D-dad . . . my ocarina—"

Mr. Vaati had frozen with a confused grin on his face. "I . . . don't understand."

 _What does this mean?_ Vaati thought. He lowered his head, his thoughts racing, eyes wide with fear. _B-but he said that, if I can't do Light Magic, then . . . then I can't . . . I can't . . ._

 _ **I can't leave!**_

He was trapped! He would never be able to run away with Saria. He would be stuck here with Grandpa Bellum and his father _forever_.

Mr. Vaati was still trying to puzzle out what happened. "If it wasn't _you_ . . . well . . . that's no good, then."

Vaati looked up. Did his father look . . . sad?

A rush of magic traveled through the hall past them. Mr. Vaati's eyes widened before he grabbed his head with a snarling cry. "GAH!"

"What is it? What's wrong?" Vaati tried to grab his father's arm, hand, anything, but the older mage stumbled away from him. It seemed to Vaati that he was growing bigger.

" _The seal!_ " Mr. Vaati hissed. His voice sounded deeper, laced with magic undertones.

"What seal?"

His father turned around, and Vaati backed into the wall in alarm. There were cracks on his father's face and hands. Black clouds seeped from them, pushing his face outward. " _The seal keeping us in this castle!_ " Mr. Vaati's form bent at an angle that should have broken his spine in several places. His robes became enveloped in black sludge. " _NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_ "

Vaati pressed hands against his mouth, pushing his back against the wall with all of his might.

His father's form disappeared completely into the mass of dark magic, and Vaati could feel its great power.

Suddenly a tentacle shot out, grabbing Vaati's collar, and a voice completely alien to him shouted, " **RUN!** "

As soon as the tentacle let go, Vaati was gone. He didn't remember running away, he was so scared his body was on autopilot. He remembered nothing until the castle began to shake around him. Was it going to _fall?!_

 _What do I do? What do I do?!_ The castle was his whole world, he knew of no other! If it fell down . . . what was outside? And he couldn't go to the Light World! He skidded to a halt as a piece of ceiling slammed into the ground ahead of him, missing him by inches.

To the young mage, it was as if the sky was literally falling.

 _Saria! Where is Saria!_

 _No. Grandpa Bellum! He'll know what to do!_

Using magic to shield himself from the crumbling debris, Vaati headed to a side of the castle he'd never dared before.

SSS

Saria pounded on the wall that had just been false a moment ago. She yelled Vaati's name, but received no answer. After several minutes of waiting to see if maybe Vaati was able to get the wall open, she gave an almighty sigh, her head sagging back. "UUUUUUGH!" There was nothing for it but to go forward.

She walked along the dim tunnel, imagining the light was just a side effect of Tunnel Magic. Like all Light-powered secret tunnels, she assumed it wasn't actually built into the castle, but the Goddesses or whoever was in charge of this kind of thing would create a tunnel loophole in the dungeon's magical defenses. She figured this castle must be pretty well protected if there was only one spot that could be broken through and an escape tunnel made. Then again, they hadn't actually _tested_ any of the other walls. She'd figured there'd be flashing lights or the door would open on its own like in her father's stories. The tunnel went on a really long way. With the luck she'd been having, she wondered if there would be a dead end and she'd be stuck.

She soon saw a wispy, golden light up ahead. As she got closer, she saw it was some kind of magic doorway. It looked like a messy gold and dark blue oil painting, the colors swirling in on each other in beautiful curlicues. She approached it and stuck a hand out, placing it on the doorway. Light filtered up through her fingers, making her hand look like it was glowing. She tried to push through, but the painted landscape didn't budge.

Backing up several paces, she rolled up her sleeves with a determined pout and ran at the wall, charging into it with an entirely undignified roar. Zelda would be appalled.

Then again, Aunt Zelda dressed as a guy for seven years, so . . .

All she ended up with was a hurt body and an aching head. The wall wouldn't give at all. "Ow."

Her pain was interrupted by a squishing noise, and she looked behind her.

Although in the dim light it was hard to see, her eyes soon adjusted to find a . . . a . . . _giant snail!_

No. A SLUG. Its little eye stalks wiggled as it got closer to her, and Saria backed against the light wall in disgust.

Ghosts. Fine. Sorcerers. Piece of cake. Taken to a an alternate dimension and stuck with two psychopaths. No sweat!

A giant slug. The squishing noises got worse as it slurped across the stones toward her. It was bigger than Epona! It lifted the front part of it up, slime strands trailing from its chin to the ground. Was she imagining it, or did the very tip of that slimy membrane curve up in a creepy smile?

 _Nope!_ Saria spun and pounded on the light wall. _NOPE. NOPE NOPE NOPE! NOPE!_ "AAAAAAIIEEEE ANYBODY SOMEBODY NAYRU DIN FARORE HELP ME DON'T LET IT **EEEEEEEAT MEEEEEEEEEEE!** "

She felt, or rather heard, a light ringing and she suddenly became weightless and there was a blinding blue light. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt her eyes at all. Slowly the blue light dissipated and she was able to look around her. It was much brighter here. She was no longer in the tunnel? She was no longer even in the castle!

Strangely colored clouds, green, gold, purple, all kinds of bright, luminescent colors, stretched beyond her as far as the eye could see. They didn't look like regular clouds. In fact, they kind of reminded her of pictures painted of the Twilight. She looked behind her and found the castle looming above her. Somehow she'd escaped?

 _Saria?_

"GAH! Who's there?!"

 _It's Rauru, the Sage of Light. We sages have fallen, but were able to use the last of our might to rescue you from the castle. In doing so, the seal placed upon the castle has been broken. Vaati and Bellum now have full rein over Hyrule and this Dark Realm._

She was beginning to feel strange. "What should I do?!"

 _Search for the realm of Twilight. There you will find Princess Midna_. _Be careful, little Saria._

"What about Vaati?" Was it just her, or was her voice getting higher? Wait, was she falling through the clouds?! She looked down with a cry. No, not falling.

Shrinking! Hop-hop-hop she went, and suddenly her arms got heavier as though they were covered with something. Her voice became twittery and melodic, her mouth long and . . . and sharp! Her eyes separated and suddenly she couldn't see in front of her, but instead saw left and right. She turned her head around, shrieking wildly. Feathers. Feathers! All over her arms, and her torso, and-and-SHE HAD A TAIL. She wiggled it, and shrieked again, noticing her face now had a beak, and she hopped into the air. Her feet! She only had four toes, one on the back, _and her knees went backward!_

She landed back on the clouds with a _puff_ , and calmed herself down.

A bird!

Saria was a bird!

HOW WAS SHE A BIRD?!

She shrieked again.

After a minute, she calmed down enough to hear whatever was left of the sage's message.

 _There is sadly nothing we can do for your friend. You MUST seek out the Princess of Twilight! Only she may be able to return you to the Light World._

Saria tried to reply, "Oh bugger all that!" but all that came out were tweets. The sages remained silent, probably too weak to continue the conversation.

Without even thinking, Saria ruffled the feathers of her entire body in agitation. NO WAY was she leaving her friend behind! She took a step forward and stumbled onto her beak. She couldn't figure out how to walk, and did birds even walk? So she hopped until she found a sort of high puff of cloud. She was not one to do things halfway.

 _Well, here we go!_ She spread her wings and hopped off. Wind caught her wings. It was the _weirdest_ feeling . . . but also really really nice, like wind through your hair! Only after realizing this did she remember to start flapping her wings.

POOF!

She slammed right into the clouds. _At least it was a soft landing_.

It took a few more tries, but soon she was fluttering up and up and up, surprised at how fast she could move her wings. She'd never been able to move her arms that fast. She flew up over the castle and looked for a window, something, _anything!_ She had to find Vaati!

An unsettling noise reached her ears . . . or well, did she even still have ears? An image of a bird with Hylian ears entered her brain, and she trilled merrily.

In the distance, black marks began to grow in the sky, heading straight toward her. It didn't take her long to recognize their cries.

 _Keese!_

She flapped as hard as she could. _Gotta find something something SOMETHING!_

And yet, once the keese reached her, they flew right past, so Saria slowed. Loud clangings and clobbering sounds came from the castle. She watched as an entire parapet collapsed and fell onto the rest of the castle. _Oh no! The castle is breaking apart! I HAVE to find Vaati!_

She attempted a dive, and didn't fail. Soon she was mere feet from the unstable castle's top. _A window! A door! Anything!_

A circular pipe sticking out of the ceiling caught her eye. _A chimney! Perfect!_ She flew near to it and stopped flapping her wings, ungracefully landed inside the pipe and falling, falling . . . falling . . .

 _Poof!_ She landed on a thankfully cold pan of ashes before bouncing again and landed on a hearth, coughing.

"Oh dear," an ominous voice spoke, and whoever it was stepped toward her.

Saria looked up and balked.

It was Bellum! The monster's beady eyes grinned evilly as he bent down. Saria shrank, but Bellum just held a clawed finger out. Saria got the idea that she was supposed to climb onto it.

Well, she was a bird. Might as well act like one. She climbed uneasily onto his finger, and he lifted her up. "There, there, little bird. How _did_ you get in here?" He walked back to where he'd been before, behind a large oak desk covered with books. It was an office, with bookshelves on every wall filled with tidy books. There wasn't a dust speck anywhere. It was spotless and immaculate. He sat at the desk and opened a large book that smelled like old socks and dirty underwear. "Now, let's seeeeee."

Saria looked down at the page and if she were still human, she'd have paled. Instead, her feathers poofed and she looked like a puff ball.

The page Bellum had turned to was covered in spells that had illustrations depicting the different ways you could dissect a bird. Or decapitate it. Or de-wing it. She crouched to leap off the man's finger, but only then realized he had a firm grip on her toes with his thumb. She gave a startled tweet.

Away from the slug, straight to the crazy den! She flapped her wings insistently, twittering ceaselessly. Then she tried to peck Bellum's hand, but she wasn't sure how to do that effectively, and he just spun his hands so she was hanging upside down and she shrilled in an offended way.

Something smashed into the office door.

"It's not open," Bellum said unhelpfully.

"Grandpa Bellum! Grandpa Bellum it's me! Open up! You've got to help! The Castle! It's falling—"

Bellum snapped the fingers of his free hand, and the door opened to reveal Vaati outside.

"—down," Vaati finished, with much less vigor than before. He ran into the room. "Grandpa Bellum, what are you doing? Don't just sit there! Wait." He glanced around. "Why is everything okay in here?"

Saria realized he was right. She'd been too terrified to notice, but nothing was shaking in this room. Everything was still in its place, or she assumed it was, having never been in here before.

Bellum shrugged. "What of it? No need for my books to get destroyed during your father's tantrum."

"But Grandpa, Dad really needs help!"

"Do NOT," Bellum stood and loomed over the boy dangerously, "tell ME what to do, boy!"

Vaati shrank back, aware that he was alone, with Grandpa Bellum, who really didn't like him all that much. But he'd thought he liked his dad at least. Suddenly he knew he'd made a terrible mistake and tried to escape out the door. A new door materialized in the doorway, blocking his path. Bellum chuckled with a disturbing smile cracking across his shapeless mouth.

Saria got an idea. She puffed up her chest and whistled a tune. "Toooooooo-tooooo-toooooooooooooo, toooooooooooo-toooooo-toooooooooooo—!" Zelda's lullaby, bird style.

Luckily those few notes were all she needed. Bellum's grip on her suddenly released as he hissed, and she plopped onto the desk. The magic door had disappeared. Saria scurried across the desk and hopped off, flapping her wings and gliding until she could grip Vaati's tunic with her feet. She twittered at him chaotically.

"Saria?!" Vaati asked in wonder.

"TWEEET!"

Well, Vaati didn't need to wonder what that meant. He sprinted for the doorway and ran back into the collapsing castle.

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!" Vaati was shouting like a maniac, blasting away falling boulders and floating them over holes in the floor. Saria gripped his collar for dear life.

Saria didn't know why he was freaking out. _Outside! Just go outside already!_ Although after a few minutes she suddenly thought that maybe he didn't even know Outside was a thing except in the Light World. She tried twittering at him to get his attention, but he only screamed louder and his feet became a blur of speed. Finally, she cranked her neck back, then brought her sharp beak down onto his collar bone.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIEEEEEEEEE-OW!" Vaati flinched and fell on his backside. Saria flew up and hovered in front of his nose. "Tyoo!" She twittered sternly. "Putyoo wooshoo pyoo pyoo!"

"Huh?"

"PYOO!" Saria flew up through a hole in the ceiling. Vaati used his wind magic to follow.

"Go up? I see." Vaati had no clue why, but maybe Saria knew something he didn't. He caught up with her and swiped her from the air, right before she collided with a falling gargoyle. He stuffed her in his hat. "Just stay in there, okay?! I get the idea!"

He flew along the castle hallways, climbing up every ceiling hole he could find, dodging bricks, nearly getting smashed by collapsed walls and ceilings. Eventually he saw something up above he didn't recognize. Strange colors. What part of the castle was that?

Saria and Vaati finally reached the very top of the castle, and suddenly there was nothing around them but air.

Their momentum carried them higher and higher. Vaati spun in circles, staring around him in shock. "WHAT IS THIS?" He was shouting, understandably terrified. "W-WHAT IS THIS?!"

Saria twittered from his hat, and he looked down. There was that black sludge again, appearing from the wreckage of the castle and tearing down what was left. Vaati gulped. No time to wonder now! He propelled them by wind as fast as he could away from the castle and into the endless Twilight.

SSS

They had been traveling for an hour at least, full speed, but Vaati wasn't even tired yet. At first he thought it must be adrenaline, but eventually he realized, no, he just wasn't running out of magic energy. He spun onto his back and looked behind them.

The castle was nowhere in sight. It hadn't been for a long time. Vaati slowed and landed on the puffy, strangely colored clouds. "Saria, are you alright?" He held his hands up to his head, and Saria clambered out onto them. Vaati lowered her to his eye level. She tweeted twice. Even though she was a bird, he could still see the fear in her eyes, and imagined he looked about as disconcerted as she did. He looked around. There was absolutely nothing in sight. He was careful to not move his feet. He didn't want to accidentally start heading _back_ toward the castle! "Where do we go now?" he asked plaintively.

If she wasn't a bird, Saria would have told him what Sage Rauru told her. But she couldn't, so she shuffled her wings and twittered sadly.

Vaati seemed to understand this, at least. He nodded. "Well, stay close. I'll protect you." He lifted her back to his head, and she slipped onto his hat, behind the little golden jewel, which she held with her wings for support. She wanted to see the view as they flew! "Hang on tight!" Vaati rose back into the air and the two continued forward, their destination uncertain, but their friendship stronger than ever.

* * *

 **AN: Yes, I DO think it's ironic that Vaati has a bird on his hat!**


	19. Chapter 18

**AN: Thanks for the review Izzyboopers!**

 **Suggested Soundtrack (for the second half) : Danse Macabre by Saint-Saens**

* * *

Chapter 18

Link had left the princess after everything was cleaned up, the baby put in its own little crib, and Zelda was finally able to catch some sleep.

He couldn't, though. His bleary mind told him he needed to, but his heart refused to let him. Harumphing, Link made his way to the training grounds. There he found old Auru, the only one of the Resistance Fighters who had remained in Castle Town, due to the fact that, well, even though he denied it most of the time, he was getting really old. Auru turned when he heard Link and nodded a greeting. Beyond him sat a circle of people on the grassy ground, all listening to his flame-headed daughter, Melody.

Her audience was made up of the moblins she had somehow befriended, Gropkick, Krakrak, and Porkfic. Krakrak and Porkfic seemed to be intently listening, and Gropkick appeared to try, but he was either bouncing for fun or trying to get something out of his ear, Link couldn't tell which.

The sight of moblins so close to his daughter still raised his hackles, but he knew that, if this treaty were going to work, the two peoples would have to learn to live with one another.

And then there was the matter of the Gerudo boy. He sat listening to Melody, too, with all-too-much attention for Link's taste. He pursed his lips and strolled over. Melody had her back to him, so she didn't notice him until he was practically by her shoulder.

"Oh! Hey, Papa!" She grinned and got up to hug him. It had been a while since she'd been so excited to see him, so Link hugged her back with a dorky dad grin. Melody grabbed his hand and sat back down. Link hesitated a moment, and finally sat down next to her. "You look tired, Papa." Her eyes widened. "How is Aunt Zelda?! Did she have her baby?"

Link smiled. "She did. A healthy baby boy. His name is Sheik."

"A boy? Aaaw, and I was hoping it was another girl . . ." She brightened. "But no matter. I'm sure he's adorable!"

"He is."

"Is Aunt Zelda okay?"

"Yes, the doctors say she just needs a lot of rest." Link was honestly relieved more than he could say. The possibility of there being complications and Zelda dying in childbirth had been high when Zelly was born, even more so when Sheik was born. That so far things had turned out well was a miracle he did not mind attributing to the Goddesses.

"Nanaco," Melody said, speaking to the Gerudo lad, "Did you hear that? My aunt, the queen, just had a baby!"

The boy considered her words with narrowed eyes, then after a moment, he brightened and nodded, stating haltingly, "She is the strength of warrior!"

Link looked up at him in surprise. "You speak Hylian?"

Nanaco turned to look at him this time, and thought on his words, then nodded. "Yes."

Melody put her chin in her hands. "He said King Bulbin taught him, and boy did he do a bad job of it! But we've been helping him get better, haven't we, guys?"

The moblins growled their agreement.

Link regarded the Gerudo youth cautiously. "Are you faring well in the castle, Prince Nanaco?"

"Uh . . . yes. Very well, thank you. Although very cold."

"Have you and Melody been getting along?"

He nodded some more. "Yes. Melody. Very, very smart!"

Melody blushed and giggled. Link frowned.

Nanaco pointed to his temple and gave a tiny grin. "Melody teach a lot for Hylian. Red hair like Mara. Have Gerudo blood."

"Mara?"

Melody broke in. "That's Gerudo for mother!"

"Oh. I see." Link wondered if having a red-haired friend made the Gerudo boy feel more comfortable in the alien palace. He supposed that was a good thing. He forced himself to address the moblins, plastering a pleasant smile on his face. "How about you three? How has your stay at the castle been?"

"Tasty tasty meat!" Gropkick cried. Porkfic snorted his agreement.

"Cleeeeeean," was Krakrak's contribution.

Link took these all as compliments. "I'll let the queen know you're doing well. Have you heard anything from King Bulbin?"

Gropkick shook his head. Krakrak said, "I heard Aeralfos on castle wall." He pointed up at it. "Big battle at Korfka. King Bulbin troops leave to other towns."

Link nodded. So King Bulbin was true to his word, already sending troops to protect the various towns. "Thank you, Krakrak."

The blue bokoblin scratched behind a raggedy pointed ear, saying something in moblin.

"He said 'My pleasure,'" Melody translated.

Link smirked at her. "Well you're just becoming an expert linguist, aren't you?"

She grinned. "Yep! I'm having a lot of fun! But . . . I'd really like to show Nanaco Castle Town. Do you think we could go sometime?"

"Uuuh, I don't think that would be such a good idea right now . . ."

"Aaaaaw."

"People aren't used to seeing Gerudos around, let alone a _boy_ Gerudo. And I can't currently promise his safety, or even yours. Just wait a few more days, okay? Let Zelda get back on her feet."

Melody sighed. "Okay."

Talking to his daughter and her friends had apparently relaxed him well enough. He thought he might actually be able to sleep now. He stood up, grunting. "Well, I wish I could stay, sweetheart, but I'm exhausted. I'm gonna sleep for a while. Wake me if Zelda needs me."

"Okay, Papa." Melody jumped to her feet, got on her tippy toes, and planted a kiss on his cheek

He rubbed his cheek wonderingly. "Wow, what was that for?"

She shrugged. "Nothin'. You're my papa, that's all!"

Grinning, he pulled her into a hug. "I love you, princess."

"I love you too, Papa!"

She waved as Link walked away, and he waved back, cheerful despite how tired he was.

Then she sat back down. "Now! Where were we?"

* * *

It was three whole days before Link was called into Zelda's bedchamber. In the meantime he spent most of the days with Melody, trying to learn more about Nanaco, and grudgingly, the moblins. Zelda had said she'd had a vision, so Link knew she would tell him as soon as she knew what to do about it.

He was antsy. He wouldn't rest well until all his children were home under his and Malon's roof again, safe and sound and happy.

The halls were empty and his footsteps echoed as he made his way to her room in response to the summons. When he got there, Impa opened the door for him and he walked inside. Zelda looked slightly more rested, cradling Sheik in her arms as she lay in bed. The baby was fast asleep. Selda motioned for Link to sit in the chair next to her. "I've been thinking on the issue of the sages in my vision," she said quietly, to not wake Sheik.

Link sat on the edge of the chair and leaned forward eagerly. "Do you need me to go to the library to get you books?" he asked, equally quiet.

Zelda shook her head. "My servants helped me." A look of fierce concentration furrowed her brow. "They spoke of Vaati, and the seal he's under, and the greater darkness that resides with him. It will not be long until that seal is broken." She raised both eyebrows for a moment. "If it isn't already broken."

"What does that mean for Hyrule?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Vaati I know is a sorcerer consumed with madness, but this other creature . . . I fear it's the monster that King Bulbin warned us about. Bellum. If that's true, and the seal breaks, then no force in Hyrule will be able to stop it. From what he told us, the creature feeds on the Light Force of everything in creation, which would include the Master Sword."

Alarm crossed Link's features. "The Master Sword is useless?!"

Zelda nodded. "I'm afraid so. Anything that uses the power of Light, the power of the Goddesses, would serve only to feed him more power."

"What is he, some sort of god?"

"He _did_ create the moblin race . . . but I know nothing more about him, and King Bulbin is not here to question."

"What about Prince Nanaco?"

Zelda's eyebrows crossed. "Hmm. Perhaps. Although he is not a moblin, so he may not know the secrets of his caretakers. The only thing I can think is to fight darkness with darkness. I wish we had Midna. Her ancestors' Twili magic would be invaluable, I think."

"Saria somehow got there, maybe we could rebuild the Mirror—"

But Zelda was already shaking her head. "We can't build a bridge from this side, not without Midna's power."

Link's heart lifted. "So if we could contact Midna, maybe she could find Saria and send her back?!"

With a pained expression, Zelda shook her head again. "Just as we need Twilight magic to create a bridge from the Light World, she would need an immense amount of Light Magic to create a bridge from the Twilight Realm. Whatever power it was that pulled Saria through the realms, it somehow had command over both Light and Dark magic in the Sacred Realm."

A moment passed as Link comprehended these words. Then he dropped his head onto his hands, distraught.

Zelda placed her hand on Link's head. "We'll find a way, Link . . . I promise."

"I know, Princess, it's just . . . I feel like such a failure."

"A failure? What for?"

"Everything! Being a father, a hero. I've saved Hyrule twice, Termina once, but I can't seem to keep my family together! What kind of hero am I if I can't even protect them? I almost let my daughter run off and live with the moblins!"

"But you _didn't_ , Link. You did what you always do. You were presented with a problem and you dealt with it. Besides, Melody is stronger than you think. I'm sure she'll forgive you."

Link snorted wryly. "Sometimes I wish she was still five years old . . . obedient and perfect. But then I think of all the wonderful conversations we've had since then, how much she's grown and learned. Even when she's angry at me and we disagree, I'm still just _so proud of her._ I remember what a terror I was at that age, my stupid thinking, but she's not like that at all. She's become so open-minded and beautiful, just like her mom. And her aunt." Link smiled at her.

Zelda rolled her eyes. "I feel like a deflated, dried up puffer fish!"

"Nope. Still beautiful!"

"Oh stop it." But she seemed pleased. "In any case, we need to come up with a plan to stop Bellum, or at least slow him down until we can defeat him." Her eyes fell closed, and she forced them open. "There is a legendary blade, called the Phantom Blade, that is able to cut through all darkness. It is not powered by Light, but by the sands of time. If we find that blade, we may be able to fight Bellum. Without it . . ." She frowned in deep worry.

"Hyrule may be toast."

Zelda smirked. "To put it in food terms . . . now I'm hungry. Thanks a lot!"

"My pleasure!"

She threw out a hand to try and smack him, but he dodged with the expertise of the Hero. He cackled.

"Zelda," he said after a moment. "If I go on an adventure to find this sword, who's going to lead your country while you recover?"

"Oh. Right." Zelda laid her head back on the pillows again and sighed throatily. "I'm so used to Shadow being here to deal with those questions."

"Auru's here."

"He has no expertise and would rather die."

"I could recall Shad?"

"That may work. What about . . . Malon?"

Link blinked. "Malon?"

"Well, she has experience with babies, and I could definitely use some help, and with Shadow gone and the country in such disarray, I can't let anyone else sign paperwork. If Malon were here I would trust her to help me with Sheik while I stay in bed."

Link's eyebrows crossed in concern. "Has the doctor told you when you'll be up and about again?"

She shook her head. "We'll just have to hope that either the Goddesses bless me with inhuman strength or else . . . Shadow finds his way back."

Link nodded. "I'll talk to Malon." His gut knotted. The last time he'd spoken to his wife, they'd been fighting.

* * *

They made it to Faron Spring. They had no choice but to seek shelter within. The light-sucking darkness had already caught up to them. They could hear the distant yells of the Dark Beasts. This spring had no gates, so they would be at the monster's mercy more likely than not. They huddled in the shallows of the spring, Ilia trying to keep everyone calm, though she knew it was futile.

Nothing could stop the darkness. It was only a matter of time before this Light Spirit gave way to it as well. "Everyone!" she called, "Have faith! We were saved once from a darkness similar to this. We MUST believe in salvation! Get as near to the mouth of the spring as possible."

And so they waited. As the sounds of shriveling plants reached their ears, some began to cry. Beth's baby sensed the tumultuous mood of the adults and started screaming. "I can't stand it!" Beth shouted, breaking from the others and running to the spring entrance. "It Talo, but there's no way I'm letting it take me! OR my baby, so there!"

"Beth!" Ilia raced after her. "Stop!"

Suddenly several animals burst into the area, but not from the direction of the darkness. Beth jumped back, colliding with Ilia. "AAAAUGH! MONSTERS!"

They were bulbos, and on their backs were moblins, armed to the teeth and menacing. Ilia recognized the large one. "King Bulbin!"

"Hello, Lady Ilia. What is troubling you?"

Beth's eyes widened at Ilia, clutching her baby in open terror. "Get away from us you MONSTER!"

Ilia pointed toward the way they'd come from. "We're being chased by darkness! It took our friends and turned them into . . . into _monsters!_ We can't run away fast enough."

King Bulbin took this in, then nodded and barked commands to his troops. They began to dismount from their bulbos. "You and the villagers will climb onto the bulbos and escape. We shall stay to battle the darkness and the monsters within."

"You don't understand," Ilia insisted. "The darkness turns every living being in its clutches into a monster!"

King Bulbin grinned, his pointed fangs yellowed at the gums. "Lady Ilia, we are already monsters. This is a darkness we know very well. Your concern for us is touching, but weak."

Unable to resist curling her lip in a snarl, Ilia spun and called to the villagers, "Come on! They're going to let us ride out of here! The moblins are here to help!"

"You can't be SERIOUS!" Beth shouted.

"I AM! We need to go NOW!"

Timidly at first, the villagers approached the bulbos, wary of the moblins around them. Beth stuttered, staying put, when a moblin grabbed her around the waist and placed her quite carefully on the nearest bulbo. "Mama Human be safe now, okay? Okay." The voice sounded vaguely feminine. Beth's eyes softened. She gave a brave smile and nodded. The moblin climbed up behind her and took the bulbo's reins. The other villagers similarly mounted the bulbos behind or in front of their moblin drivers, and soon they were galloping away from the spring.

Ilia glanced behind her. They had barely made it in time. If King Bulbin hadn't appeared when he did . . . she shook her head. She wasn't _about_ to start liking the monster.

King Bulbin watched them go, then turned to face the approaching blackness of death, hefting his double-bladed ax. Five moblins had stayed behind. The darkness climbed across the ground until it even reached their toes, then suffocated the ground beneath them. King Bulbin flexed his feet, raising an eye ridge at the curious sensation of nothingness beneath him. A growl rose from the deepest part of him, vibrating the air around him, for such was his power in a place of darkness. "Without light," he explained to his overwhelmed moblins, "all that is left is what has already died. This is the place of your origin, my friends. Feel its nothingness." He spat on the twisted ground. "We may have power, but what good is it if there is no world to use it upon? This is why we must fight, to save this world of Hyrule, or the entire world of light, to avoid this _NOTHINGNESS!_ " He raised his ax above his head and drove it into the black earth. A split appeared in the darkness where the ax struck, and although it was only dead earth, it was no longer controlled by the darkness. The darkness, however, soon began to close up the wound. Ahead, the figures of Beast Shad, Talo, and Bo, and Fado appeared around the bend, eyeing the moblins distrustingly. For the first time, they hesitated moving forward. "Do not harm the Light Beings," King Bulbin instructed. "The darkness draws great power from them. If we can stop them, we may be able to halt the darkness."

While his troops got into position, King Bulbin ran into the spring. "Light Spirit! Hear me! Lend me your Light and I offer you my ax!" He raised it above his head. Symbols began to glow on its surface. It was an ancient relic of the past, an heirloom passed down from one moblin king to the next. It took the energy that the darkness granted him and bent it to his will. "We must merge our powers to stop the darkness. Merge with me, O Light Spirit!"

A bright, silvery, pulsing light appeared in the spring and spread outward, enveloping King Bulbin's feet. The light rose up his legs and the rest of him, convalescing on the handle of his ax, and finally mixing with the darkness on the edges of the blades.

Outside the spring, the five moblin warriors had trapped Fado in a corner. Three pointed their weapons outside at the other three monsters, and two pointed theirs at Fado. The leader shook his head as they defended themselves against the constant onslaught and roars of the monsters. The beasts had given up their unearthly cries when they found it had no effect on the moblins. _I know Master said don't hurt them, but I don't want to die trying to save a filthy Hylian!_

Just then the moblins were caught off guard when a paradoxical mix of Light and Dark surrounded their weapons. Sure it was King Bulbin who had somehow granted them extra power, the leader took his spear and drove it straight toward Fado's chest.

The beast caught it, and then began to scream. As if unable to let go, it flailed with the spearhead in its hand as it was consumed by the silver and black light. The beast's shape morphed and shrank, then grew, and finally its color returned to that of a being of Light, and Fado, no longer a beast, fell to the ground, hand still clutching the spearhead, and bleeding.

The moblin leader blinked, then shrieked, "Hit them with the flat of your blades! We may yet follow our king's ill-conceived orders to save this filth." He shook the spearhead out of Fado's hand, and was displeased to find the darkness begin to creep over him yet again. He spun, and all five moblins shot their spears and knives at the remaining beasts, who had retreated in terror at the dying scream of their own. The moblins had to chase them far into the dark, but eventually they caught Bo. Talo was more difficult, but they managed that as well. The one they could not seem to catch was Shad.

Shad was unrecognizable. He no longer took on the general shape of a human being. Instead, his limbs had lengthened, his joints going in all the wrong directions, his neck stretched to an impossible length, his face was now half a mouth, jagged and dripping black ooze. He had been in the darkness the longest. Appendages had grown from his back, haphazardly shaped limbs, and even now one more was shaping itself slowly from whatever recesses it had left in its torso. Or what used to be its torso. What was once Shad had been completely taken over and changed by Bellum.

Belshad curled its craned neck and shrieked at the moblins. King Bulbin came up behind his troops and hefted his ax. "Let us tame the beast!" They stared at their leader, who was covered in the same twisted light as their weapons. Then, they nodded.


	20. Chapter 19

AN: Chapter 20! Whoo!

Thanks for the reviews! XOXO

* * *

Shadow waited as the sun dipped lower on the horizon. He had shadow-melded to the roof of the music box house. Zelly had been busy talking nonstop to Pamela when he left. As soon as evening arrived, Sashira had insisted on leaving. Shadow had asked her if he could meet her father, but she seemed especially perturbed by the question, and quickly disappeared without answering. Shadow wasn't ecstatic about leaving Zelly with Anton and Pamela, but he had questions, and he knew only the night would bring them.

Getting back to Ikana Castle was a simple matter once shadows covered Ikana. Shadow appeared there in an instant. Just like the previous night, the castle was alight with life. Servants and dancers fluttered around, warriors talking amongst themselves. Shadow entered the castle. The main room was filled with people, tables of food crowding the corners. In the center, there were four acrobats performing amazing stunts inside a chalk rectangle drawn on the floor. A lithe, green-dressed one helped another leap high into the air, where he flipped, and was caught by his teammates. Shadow squinted at the green one. He had white blond hair, and brilliant blue eyes. There was something familiar about him. The acrobat caught him staring, and froze, looking straight at him. Curious to get a closer look, Shadow stepped beyond the chalk. Instantly the acrobats froze in their actions, and quicker than Shadow thought possible, arranged themselves side-by-side, heads and upper bodies bowed toward Shadow.

He paused, confused. "Uuh . . ."

He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Mazatl." It was Cualli. "Let me handle this. You are still recovering."

"Handle what?" Shadow asked as Cualli stepped closer to the green acrobats. The others backed away quickly, and the green one knelt, shoulders tense, staring at the floor. If he'd known what was going on, Shadow would have stopped it sooner. However, he could only watch dumbly as Cualli pulled a stick with three braided whips on the end from his belt, stepped behind the acrobat, and struck him with it across the back, once, twice, three times.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Shadow wasn't sure if he ran or shadow-melded to the acrobat, throwing himself over the dancer protectively and shouting up at Cualli. "JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!"

Cualli stepped back, whip paused halfway in another strike. "Mazatl. He must be punished."

"WHY? WHAT DID HE EVEN DO?!"

"He looked you in the eye."

Shadow's face widened in astonishment, then scrunched in disbelief. " _What?!_ "

"Servants are not allowed to look warriors in the eye. It is a most grievous offense."

"That's ridiculous."

"Mazatl, you are making a fool of yourself. Stand and I will tell you all you have forgotten."

Shadow studied the lines of blood seeping through the acrobat's clothes. He tried to get the young man to look up, but he kept his head low. "What's your name?" Shadow asked.

In response, the boy tensed and began to shake.

A moment from his flashback came back to Shadow. The little boy practicing swords and his friend. The one would become a warrior and the other would no longer be able to speak to him . . . "You're not allowed to speak, are you?" Shadow knew he wouldn't get an answer.

Cualli gave the boy a swift kick in his side. "Speak!"

The boy huddled in on himself, holding his bruised side. Shadow stood quickly and stopped right in Cualli's face. Perhaps that was a challenge to a duel or something? Shadow didn't care. "Step back," he commanded.

The other warriors noticed the tension and a few started forward, unbuckling their weapons. Cualli raised a hand, and they paused. Somewhat certain that Cualli would not again hurt the boy, Shadow again crouched next to him. This time he asked, "Is your name Impa?"

The boy's breath caught, his head rose ever so slightly, and an accented voice replied softly, "You forgot me after all, Mazzy."

Shadow felt rather than saw the crowd stiffen. Okay, so calling warriors by a nickname was obviously _also_ forbidden. Of course. "To be fair, you're the only one I remember at all from this place."

"You've lost your memory?"

"Yes."

"Mazatl," Cualli interrupted. "Do you know this young man?"

"We were friends as children," Shadow explained. "Before I . . . um, I assume I'm a warrior?"

Cualli nodded, relaxing. "I see. You remembered him, and approached him to see if you could remember more."

"Uh, sure."

Cualli stepped closer. "I believe under the circumstances rules can be bent. You!" He ordered the acrobat. "You will attend to Lord Mazatl."

Impa nodded. Shadow took his arms and gingerly helped him up. From the look on Impa's face, Shadow guessed touching or being touched by a warrior was also a big Do Not. "He needs a doctor."

"Kikaru will take you to the kitchen. They will throw salt water on the wounds."

Shadow laughed like a pig. Salt water? That was it? He tried to speak, but couldn't. He remembered the way to his room, and took Impa's arm carefully and began leading him down the hall. The warriors all watched them go in bemusement.

"Just where has he _been?_ " Cualli asked no one in particular.

As soon as they were out of sight of the revelry, Impa turned and threw his arms around Shadow's neck. "Mazatl!"

"Careful," Shadow warned, "You'll irritate your wounds."

"These? These are nothing." He tightened his hold. "I thought I would never see you again."

". . . Okay, but we really should get those looked at. Come with me."

When they reached Shadow's room, he asked some servants for hot water, bandages, cloths, and medicine. He used a knife to cut the tight-fitting outfit from Impa's shoulders, not willing to irritate the wounds by taking it off the normal way. "So . . . I've been gone three years."

"You're old."

"What?"

"Sorry."

"Stop that. Do I look old?"

"Yes."

Shadow glanced into the mirror. "Well, that makes sense. Where I've been, it's been over a decade." Then he went back to dressing Impa's wounds.

"Where did you go?" Impa asked.

"Hyrule."

"Where is that?"

"No idea. Can't remember that, either."

"What did you do there?"

"Was very confused. I'd forgotten everything by then, and I was taken advantage of by an evil man. After that I met a princess, we got married, and now I have a daughter named Zelly."

"No way! . . . You must be aching to get back." There was a tinge of sadness in Impa's voice.

"Yes, I . . . I am."

"Married a princess. First you were a baker's boy, then you became a warrior, now you are a king?"

"Pretty much!"

"Wow. You are amazing, Mazzy. But why did you come back?"

"My . . . a man tried to kidnap my daughter. I . . . followed him here to get her back. She's fine now," he added quickly. "And I stayed because . . . I have to know where I came from."

"What is Hyrule like?"

"It's . . . there aren't any servants who can't look their masters in the eye, for one. It's very beautiful there, too."

"Is it a desert?"

"Nope! Very green, it's got lakes and rivers."

"It sounds lovely."

Shadow finally finished cleaning the wounds and bandaging them up. "So . . . what can you tell me about . . . myself?"

They both shuffled to sit comfortably on the bed. "Well," said Impa. "You seem much calmer now than before."

"That would be my wife. Zelda. She's changed me into a teddy bear, and I rather like it that way."

Impa chuckled. "I knew there was a softy under all that ambition."

"Ambition?"

The boy nodded. "You became a warrior because you wanted to influence change. You wanted power so you could stop the oppression of the lower classes, of people like me."

"And then I disappeared."

"You were sent away."

"Sent away?"

"Yes. Three years ago, a seer of our people warned us that if we did not make peace with our enemies, the Goddess of Time would curse us to never stop fighting in this land, even after we died."

This sounded familiar to the tale Link had told.

"Most laughed at the seer and drove him out of town, but not you. You tried to get King Ikana to reconsider. You did not like the bloodshed. As a result, he sent you away on a ocean voyage, and that was the last I heard of you until now."

 _Huh . . . so I was on a boat._ "Where is the ocean, anyway?"

"It's to the east, all the way across Termina. Oh Mazatl!" Impa grabbed his arms. "I am so glad you are back! Please stay awhile before you leave again."

Shadow smiled unconvincingly. He suspected that none of the citizens of Ikana knew that the curse had already been brought to pass, forcing them to continue to fight as spirits in the cursed desert for eternity.

Impa had no idea he was dead.

* * *

Shadow was torn. On the one hand, he'd finally found out where he'd come from. On the other hand, it was an ancient place that only still existed because of a curse that none of the dead were aware of. He wanted to know more, to remember more. Most of all he wanted to help Impa. He loathed the idea of leaving the boy cursed. Was there no way to bring peace to the people of Ikana? Shadow thought he remembered Link saying he'd done so, but apparently that hadn't actually happened.

Then again, with all the strange time convolutions going on, perhaps Link hadn't actually come here yet. Perhaps Termina was in the future and Shadow had not gone as far as Link, or perhaps Shadow was in the past.

Rather than shadow meld across the desert like he had before, Shadow took the long way back to the music box house, walking with his eyes on the ground, studying the many pebbles and cracks.

Either way, he knew he could not stay. He needed to get Zelly home. He needed to protect his family, and his country. He could only hope there was still a home left to go to. He remembered how everyone in the castle had been turned to stone except him. Had Link also been spared? Was everyone still stone?

He lied to Impa. He said he would see him again, but there was no way Shadow could promise that. He'd do his best, though. He had no idea how to return to Hyrule, but he figured he'd done it once, and the best way to do it again was to retrace his steps.

The last place anybody had heard of him was the ocean. That meant he and Zelly were headed west.

The Music Box came up over the horizon just as the sun began to rise.


	21. Chapter 20

AN: I think I'm going to tentatively try to update this every other week. Because it's a drama and deals with a much bigger cast, it takes a lot more work to write than Hyrule Castle High and a lot of brainsy organization. I don't think I've been updating it every week anyways, and it's ended up being about every other week. I'm hoping that's more doable without me falling behind in the story and losing my groove.

Thanks for the follows/favs/reviews!

* * *

"We've been flying for a long time, Saria."

 _Tweet_.

"I haven't seen anything. Have you seen anything?"

 _Tweet tweet._

"Do you even know what we're looking for?"

 _Tweet._

"So I should keep flying?"

 _Tweet._

He sighed. "By my calculations, we've been flying for three Light World days. Also by my calculations, we've gone in a pretty straight line."

Saria wasn't sure she believed this since the landscape or skyscape or WHATEVER this was made no sense to her eyes, but Vaati was smart and he grew up here, so maybe he saw something she couldn't. She twittered a sentence.

"I know, I know . . . there's not much else we can do . . ."

* * *

Midna sat in her large chair in her less-than large office, reading book after book about interdimensional travel. She knew breaking the link between Hyrule and the Twilight Realm had been the right idea, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try to find a way the two worlds could coexist while intermingling. She missed the people she came to know in Hyrule.

Especially Link, and to a lesser degree, Princess Zelda.

How had they been doing the past years? Did Hylians grow to the same old age as the Twili? Were Zelda and Link even still alive, or had they expired by now, by unnatural means? Link was always getting into trouble, after all, and Zelda wasn't any better.

Breezing down a page, she suddenly realized that because of her musings, she hadn't actually comprehended the last two pages she'd just read. Moaning grumpily, she turned back to pages to find what she remembered reading last. In all her studies she came upon the same problem that Zelda and Link were having, but on the opposite side. She needed Light magic with her Twili magic to create a doorway. There was no Light magic no matter how far she sent her influence—

Suddenly she stopped.

 _That's strange_ , she thought, closing the book. She stood and walked to her window, looking out at the beautiful twilit sky. A feeling reached her again, one she hadn't felt in a long time. She reached out a hand to the sky, to try to feel the sensation more closely. _Light magic? How can this be?_

It was faint . . . faint . . . it was gone.

Midna leapt to the windowsill and jumped out, her cloak billowing behind her. She landed lightly on her feet on a Twili magic panel, the kind that looked invisible except for green geometric lines across its surface. She used her magic to propel the platform. She didn't need the platform to move through the air, but recent years had taught her to save her magic where possible. She created a glass windbreaker in front of the platform and propelled it faster than a horse could run. Faster than _Epona_ could run, she smirked.

She traveled over the Twilight City and into the mists of Twilight, trying to find the Light magic again. She had gone almost ten miles when she finally felt it again.

Fifty miles later, she had finally gotten close enough to perhaps see the source.

A young boy was flying ahead, which Midna found immediately suspicious. There were not many people who could do magic proficiently, much less levitate themselves like, well, SHE could. She levitated off the platform, made herself invisible, and flew a beeline toward the youth. As she got closer, she saw he was not a Twili, or else a very strangely colored Twili, all pale and lavendery, like a Twili who had no black patches and was made only of a purply underbelly color. The Light magic she'd felt seemed to come from a small point in his hat.

As she came within hearing distance, the boy suddenly shot straight up and halted, looking back, exactly at the point where Midna was. He looked right, he looked left.

 _Well, as powerful as he may be,_ she thought as her mouth curled up in cynical amusement, _he's not as powerful as I am. He can't even see me!_

He was talking, as if to himself. Then she noticed he kept glancing up, as if speaking to his hat.

 _A magic hat? A hat made of Light magic?_ Seeing the nervousness on the boy's face, like a cat whose hackles were raised, and the slight panic in his voice, she suddenly felt very confident that she would be in no danger by revealing herself. Making herself visible, she giggled and floated within ten feet of the stranger. "Excuse me, may I ask who you are, and where you are going?"

The boy's eyes widened, and she could feel his magic building up. "W-who are you?"

"Ah, but I asked first, haha! I mean you no harm. I am simply curious about your hat, which seems to exude Light magic."

Something popped from underneath the hat. A bird. Not just any bird. A Hyrulean bird, slightly green, with little swirly patterns on its body and wings, a lot like—

—like Link when he was in Wolf form. Surely this bird was the source of Light magic. The bird fluttered clumsily toward her, as though not used to being, well, a bird. It began twittering wildly and fluttered back to the lavender boy, who responded, "Huh? What?" The bird seemed exasperated and merely plopped into the boy's hands.

"Your bird seems to know me," Midna noted.

"What? Who are you?"

"I am Midna, Twilight Princess. I rule over the Twilight Realm. If I'm not mistaken, your friend is from the Light World."

The boy floated back several paces, holding the bird to his chest. "How did you know that?"

Midna held out a hand. She could really use Link's ability to go anywhere and get along with anybody right now. "Please, I mean no harm. I've told you my name. Won't you tell me yours?"

A single tweet came from the bird's beak.

The boy hesitated, then finally said, "Vaati. I'm a wind mage. And I'm super powerful so don't try anything! And my dad's a sorcerer, and he'll destroy you!"

 _Vaati? Sounds like the villain from a bed time story . . ._ "Your dad, huh?" she said wryly, raising her eyebrow as his claims. "Well I don't sense anyone else out here but you. Come a long way?"

Vaati bit his lip. Another tweet. Vaati glanced at the bird questioningly, and the bird gave another, longer, pointed tweet. "A long way, yeah."

"What are you looking for?"

His eyebrows crossed worriedly.

"Your little bird friend seems to trust me. Why don't you?"

"It's just I've not talked to a lot of . . . people."

The bird leapt from the boy's hands and flew to Midna once again, twittering in agreement with what Midna was saying. Midna held out a slender hand, letting the bird perch on her pointer finger. "Oh my. You know, little bird, I have something that will turn you back into a Hylian. That is what you are, aren't you?"

 _TWEET!_

"Really?" Vaati asked, still suspicious but much more eager. "You can help her?"

"Perhaps. Who is she?"

"Her name's Saria."

That name struck a note. It sounded familiar. She levitated closer to Vaati and began, "Usually when Light Worlders come into the Twilight Realm, they become spirits, not birds. The only one to ever turn into an animal was a holder of the Triforce of Courage—Link." Suddenly she became very distraught. What if this bird was another hero, born after Link died? Could there be two Heroes at a time? She masked the pain in her heart and forced a smile.

Vaati gasped. "Link! Yeah, Link's her dad! Oh my gosh, Saria, is this where you were taking us?"

Saria twittered once, proudly.

 _Her father. Link is her father._ She looked at Saria. "And is Link . . . alive?"

Saria's head sank slightly into her body, and she did the bird version of a shrug.

Midna nodded once. "Your desire to get here must have been strong to guide you this close to the Twilight Realm through the endless mists. Vaati," she suddenly turned to the pale boy. "What kind of magic do you use?"

"Um . . . wind magic?"

"But not just that."

"I don't know. Dark magic?"

"Hm. Well, follow me. We should return your friend to her original state, but not until we get back to the Twilit Castle. Why don't you fly beside me and tell me everything?"

* * *

"FEET! I HAVE REAL FEET AND NONE OF THE TOES ARE FACING BACKWARDS!"

Saria was running up and down the twilit hall, arms in the air, staring at her hands in happiness.

Vaati sat in a corner, worry painted on his face as he sat with his knees pulled up and his arms around them. Midna regarded him closely, both magically and with her eyes. His magic was very powerful, but he was so young he had barely tapped into it. What scared her is that it was entirely similar to her own—true Twilight magic.

And she wasn't sure she could trust him. He seemed to care about Saria a great deal, but what happened when she was taken out of the equation? From what she could gather from his befuddling tale of the last few weeks, the only people he'd ever known besides Saria was his father, who was in a frenzy, and his grandfather, who sounded even less pleasant. She felt great sympathy for him, as well, knowing what it was like to be completely cast out from your own. _He must be so confused_. Midna sat next to him. "So, Vaati. I may be able to help Saria return to the Light World, but what about you? Are you going with her?"

"Yes he is!" Saria shouted cheerfully. "He's gonna come live with us at the ranch, we have it ALL planned. We're going to ride horses together and chase after poes at night and become super awesome sorcerers together! Right, Vaati?"

Vaati turned his face away, looking sad.

Saria stepped closer and asked in a hurt voice, "What's wrong, Vaati? Isn't that what you want?"

Quietly, Vaati responded, "Yes."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I can't."

Saria's jaw dropped. "What?"

Midna frowned. His magic must really be Twilight magic. The only reason Midna had survived in the Light World was because Zelda bestowed her Light upon her. Someone like Vaati, who had grown up in Twilight, could never hope to live in the Light World.

Vaati had, in much simpler terms, explained the same thing to Saria.

"But Princess Midna can help you!" Saria sat down and cuddled next to Vaati, clutching his arm. She looked pleadingly at Midna. "Can't you?"

"I'm . . . not sure,"

"See? She's not sure! That's not a definite no, Vaati! We're gonna figure this out, okay? You and me. Together. I promise. I won't leave you behind. I pinky promise and cross my heart and hope to die."

The first smile, albeit a tiny one, Midna had seen from the boy appeared. "You really won't leave me?"

Saria grinned. "Nope!"

"Gosh, Saria, I don't know what I'd do without you. Can you really help her get to the Light World?" he asked Midna.

"I sense Light magic within her, and if it's enough, we may be able to establish a bridge. Temporarily. Long enough to get her across."

"But I'm not going without Vaati," Saria restated.

Midna chuckled. "I understand. You're just like your father." This was why she'd basically had to trick Link into letting her break the mirror, waiting until the last moment to let him know what she was doing so he wouldn't and couldn't stop her.

"My dad said something about a seal being broken," Vaati began.

"Oh, that's right!" Saria had yet to tell her version of the story. "So basically the seven sages—one of them is named Saria, by the way, like me!—the sages told me that the seal on Vaati's dad and grandpa was broken and they could go anywhere in the Sacred Realm that they wanted. Or, Twilight Realm. Or Dark World." She crossed her eyes. "Whatever. So anyway, they told me to come find you because you could help me get back home," the joviality left her face and a thoughtful look appeared instead, "but . . . the sages are in trouble. And so is Hyrule. And now so is the Twilight Realm because of Vaati's family."

Midna's voice lowered in pitch slightly. "This is more serious than I first considered. Saria . . . I am not sure how to return you to the Light World as of yet, nor do I have the strength to do both that and protect my city at this time."

"That's okay," Saria responded understandingly, clasping her hands behind her back and swaying back and forth. "I'm not going without Vaati anyway."

Midna pursed her lips, not sure how Link would feel about that, not sure how SHE would feel about that. She stood. "I the very least, I may be able to send a message to Link telling him you are alright."

"You should tell my mom. She's probably had a cow worrying about me."

"Who is your mother?"

"Her name is Malon, from Lon Lon Ranch!"

 _The ranch girl? I never would have guessed_. "I would love to contact her, but I'm afraid I can only contact someone I know from the Light World. Your father will have to do."

Saria groaned. "I am going to be in soooooo much trouble! I'll have to much out all the stables for weeks!"

Midna grinned at the punishment. Just like Link to use farm work to teach lessons. She suddenly turned to Vaati. "Wait a minute. You told me of your father. Who is YOUR mother?"

"Father never told me," Vaati replied sadly.

"Was she a Light Worlder?"

Vaati shrugged.

Midna shook her head. He knew about as much about his mother as Link did. "Very well. You are welcome to stay in the castle, of course. Actually, you have to. Adult's orders."

"You're not my mom," Saria protested.

Midna raised an eyebrow. "But I AM an adult." She bent down and grinned her sharp teeth at the little girl. "And if you misbehave I can totally tell on you to your father."

Saria puckered her lips and squinted her eyes, putting her hands on her hips and lowering her chin. "Fine. I wanted to stay in the castle anyway," she said airily.

"Great! Now you're both probably hungry, so let's go eat."

* * *

Vaati was super uncomfortable. He'd just barely gotten a glimpse of the Light World, and then he was in that crazy "mists" place, and now he was in the Twilight Realm.

It was just getting to be too much. He didn't know what he was eating. He didn't know much about plates and forks. He didn't know what he was drinking or looking at, it could have been animal or vegetable. Or fungus, for all he knew.

As Saria chatted animatedly at the live version of a character from her father's history, Vaati ate what little he could and cut the rest of his food into nervous little bits and shoved it around his plate.

Midna seemed to notice, since she said, "We have an extensive library if you'd like to explore, Vaati."

He pushed his seat back. "If you don't mind, I'd rather fly around the city and look at stuff. Is that okay?"

"Certainly."

Standing, he said goodbye to Saria, who looked sad he was leaving, but didn't try to stop him. Then an idea sparked on her face. As Vaati headed toward to nearest open window, he heard Saria ask, "Can you turn me back into a bird?"

"Not right now," Midna replied, "I think he wants to be alone."

What did SHE know? She was right, this time, but what did SHE know? He flew out the window. He traveled away from the castle and to the little city at its base. The buildings were small, some the size of his bedroom, really. They were strange. He landed and was stared at curiously by strange-looking people who spoke a funny language. Some had big faces or tall bodies. They were strange. The sky never changed colors but it kept pulsing. He hated it. It was strange, too.

Strange, strange, everything was strange! He rocketed back into the sky. All he wanted was his own room, his own bed, and that none of this had happened. He wished he'd never heard of the Light World, or the Dark World or any OTHER world. He just wanted to go home, to fight with his stupid grandpa and be annoyed by his stupid father.

WHY did things have to change?!

Saria said she wouldn't leave him, but really? She'd have to leave sometime or her father would come get her, and he had no hope that Midna could help him at all. She hadn't gotten _herself_ to the Light World, after all. His vision became blinded by tears. He would never fit in anywhere, but at least at home he hadn't been alone and things stayed the same. He knew his dad. He knew his grandfather. They were . . . _familiar_.

It was all hopeless.

He glanced back at the Twilit Castle.

 _I'm sorry, Saria._

* * *

"Vaati hasn't come back yet," Saria noted when the Twilight Princess came to check on her before bed.

"Really?" Quelling her doubts and suspicions, Midna sat at the edge of the bed and laid a hand on Saria's arm, saying, "I'm sure he'll come back when he's ready."

Truthfully, she already knew he was gone. She would have noticed sooner and tried to stop him, but she had been using her magic and a little of Saria's to get a message sent to Link. It took several hours, and by the time they were done, Midna could sense the young sorcerer was gone, with no trace as to where he went. Perhaps she could trace his magic?

* * *

AN: Meh. I'm not very good at writing Midna yet. I've never done it before . . . 's not terrible, though.


	22. Chapter 22

Lon Lon Ranch:

"She needs to be at HOME, eatin' my eggs and PIE!" Malon was yelling at no one in particular. That no one happened to be Link, who sat at the kitchen table watching his wife furiously clean the week's worth of unwashed dishes. Things had gotten crazy since the beginning of this mess.

"At least she's safe, though, right? She's with Midna."

"I've never MET this Midna! Is she a mom? Does she have kids? Has she any idea how to take care of my baby?" She threw a wooden spoon into the already full sink. She leaned her hands on the counter and sobbed.

Link stood and walked over to her, putting his chin on her head and his arms about her. "I'm sorry, Mal."

"I just want them HOME! Melody AND Saria!"

"They'll be home soon—"

"No no!" Malon turned and placed her fists on his chest. "It was bad enough when you went off adventurin' all the time. Are my kids gonna do that to me now, too?"

Link lowered his forehead onto hers. "Do you remember what I said, when I came back for the last time?"

Malon considered. "You'd just defeated Ganondorf . . . your clothes were still tattered and bloody. You said . . ." Her eyes filled with tears. "You said you could never leave like that again, that every moment away from me was . . ."

Link pulled her closer. "Torture," he finished. "That hasn't changed. Not for me, and not for the children, either."

Malon sniffed.

"No matter how far away they go," Link said, "This will always be their home. We'll make sure of it."

Malon suddenly pulled back. "Oh! That reminds me, I've been so absentminded I forgot to fold Saria's laundry." She left Link's arms and hurried up the stairs. Link was soon behind.

Saria's room was just as she'd left it when they'd gone to the castle—bed made, her beloved feathers scattered here and there, and a dream catcher above her bed. A basket of clothing sat at the foot of her bed, waiting. Malon sat sadly on Saria's bed, and Link sat beside her.

"Ow!" He suddenly cried and shifted his position. He reached between the mattress, his fingers touching something wedged between it and the bed board. Getting a good grip around it, he pulled it out. It was a diary, and inside were daily accounts. Being curious parents as they were, they of course read it. Well, Link grew up in a town full of children who didn't even have doors, so privacy was not something he immediately thought of. Malon was . . . a very intuitive mother. What they read shocked them.

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Will no one ever understand me? When I tell Mom and Dad that I can speak to the sages, they look like I must be pretending, like Tael and her imaginary friends. I thought Vaati understood me, but I was wrong. He doesn't understand me. He told me to leave him alone and hasn't visited me for AGES!_

 _Why does this always happen?_

"She . . . she was communicating with Vaati? Isn't that the sorcerer that spelled the castle?!"

"What did he want with Saria?!" Link asked, anger rising in his chest. It was directed at Vaati, but more importantly, at himself. How could he have not known?! Why hadn't he done something?

"Oh, Link, what have we done?" Malon flipped through a few previous entries. "She sounds so lonely. So sad. Why didn't we notice and do something?"

"She just seemed like regular Saria," Link said, putting his face in his hands. "I had no idea she was so lonely . . . I know more than anyone what loneliness feels like, and yet I didn't see it."

"Look at this . . . she speaks of Vaati as though he . . . as though he were a child. Listen,

" _Vaati was shaking when he came to visit. He said his grandfather was extremely upset, and punished him. He said he wished he could come live with us. He said he wished Papa was his father, too, and he didn't know what having a mother is like. I feel really sorry for him."_

"Midna mentioned something about a friend being with her," Link noted.

"Do you think . . . do you think this Lord Vaati, the sorcerer . . . do you think he has a son?"

" _Vaati was acting strange today. He asked me if I knew who possessed the Triforce of Courage now that Papa had kids. He didn't look like he wanted to ask, eventually he admitted that his father and grandfather had made him. I hate when Vaati's scared. I just want him to be happy. He's my very best friend!"_

"How terrible," Malon said. "Can you imagine being the child of a monster?"

Link wrapped an arm around her. "Why do you think they wanted to know about the Triforce of Courage?" He looked at the top of his other hand, his left hand, at the birthmark in the form of the Triforce. "What are they planning?"

* * *

Saria stared at the ceiling. She knew Midna wasn't telling her something. _Vaati's gone off somewhere again, hasn't he?_ She sat up and smashed both fists into the covers. Clambering out of bed, she started packing her things—which involved simply getting dressed. _If he thinks he's gotten rid of me so easily, he's got another thing coming!_

It was extremely easy. Of all her siblings, she was the sneakiest—without even realizing it. If she wanted something, she got it, and usually her parents were none the wiser. Just like always.

It was simple to sneak into the Twilight Room and steal the fragment of magic that Midna had shown her earlier. Supposedly it was what allowed her father to change shape from wolf to human at will—with Midna's help, of course. She threw a cloth over it, grabbed it, and threw it over her back.

Then she sneaked to the front door. Outside looked no different than a few hours earlier. _Does this place not have night or something?_ She left the castle unnoticed, bleeding into the shadows effortlessly. When she reached the edge of the city, she looked out in all directions. Where could Vaati have gone?

 _Dear sages, spirits of the Dark Realm, help me find my friend!_ She opened her eyes, smiling. Silly boy. He'd taken the Ocarina, which, by now, had so much Light Magic imbued in it that she could sense its presence, even now.

But he was already so far away. How would she ever catch up? He was headed . . . back to his family's castle. She sighed and dropped the bag over her shoulder, reaching inside to touch the fragment.

The fragment melded with her hand as soon as she touched it, and she felt her body morph again, until she was five inches tall and a little starling again. She flapped her wings a few times to readjust. _You know, being a bird isn't so bad!_ She launched herself from the Twilit City and dove into the clouds, using the momentum to carry her forwards through the Twilight Realm.

 _I'll find you Vaati! And this time I'm going to TIE YOU TO MY FOOT so you can't run away again!_

* * *

Shadow opened the door to the music box house. Sashira and Anton were having some sort of heated argument. Sashira pushed past him and ran into the morning light.

"Sashira, wait!" Anton cried, and Shadow got out of the way just in time for the anthropologist to also blast past him. "Please don't go!"

Shadow stopped him. "I'll go after her," he offered. "I . . . need to speak with her anyway, and I have an idea of where she's going."

Anton nodded. "I didn't mean to upset her . . . I just was trying to explain about the spirits in the valley and how they come alive at night, and how in the day they're gone, and how it's because they're dead and cursed, and she just . . ."

Sashira had been alone for so long in the desert, the spirits had become her friends, her family. She had known nothing else. To have that reality challenged . . . Shadow nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

Of course, Shadow simply shadow-traveled until he caught up with her. He remained in the shadows, however, and simply followed. A few times she looked about, as though she could sense he was there. Eventually she reached a camouflaged cave and went inside. Shadow snuck in behind her.

The cave looked like the tattered remains of a home, tattered rugs with intricate designs on the ground and hung on the walls to conserve warmth. Sashira knelt in the center of the room and bowed to a pile of rags lying against the far wall.

No . . . not rags. Clothes. They were wrapped around a skeletal figure, long dead, its bony jaw hanging open. Shadow edged further into the room.

"Father," Sashira said, making Shadow stop. "I've come home. I'm alright. I escaped from the Ikanans . . . with some help from that Shadow guy. You know, the one who doesn't disappear in the daytime? . . . Yes, father, I'm fine! I met someone else, too. WHAT-!? I'm not blushing! Stop that!" She sat back on her haunches and pulled her long, dark brown hair over her shoulder, working through it with her fingers. "He's very nice, but . . . very strange, too. He has a lovely daughter. Yeah, it IS that weird scientist fellow who's been hanging around. Father . . ." Her fingers paused, curled loosely in her locks. "He said they're all dead. But you're not dead." She laughed. "I can see you sitting right there, just like you always have . . . They don't disappear in the daytime, either." Her shoulders began to shake. "I don't know why."

". . . Sashira?"

In a flash she was up, a sword leveled at Shadow's throat. Seeing it was him, she blushed and put away her sword. "What did you sneak up on me for?" Confusion crossed her features. "HOW did you sneak up on me?"

"I've got shadow powers, remember? Sashira . . . I came to say goodbye?"

"Goodbye? Are you leaving already? You just got here."

Shadow chuckled. "Not here. I'm leaving the desert with my daughter to find out how to get home again . . . I didn't want to leave you by yourself, though."

"What do you mean by myself?" She looked legitimately amused. "Oh!" She took his hand and pulled him forward. "Father, this is Shadow! Shadow, this is my father, the chief of the Garo."

She looked so happy. Those eyes, that face, those relaxed lines now that she was in a perceived safe place . . . aside from the tanned skin and dark hair, she was now Zelda's spitting image.

Was she Termina's version of Zelda?

If so . . . did that mean Link also had a counterpart . . .?

It took some resolve to not simply speak to the pile of rags in the corner and play along just to keep her happy, but Shadow did not even grace the skeleton with a glance. "Sashira," he said gently, "There's no one there."

Sashira looked at him like he was crazy. She looked at her father's remains, then at Shadow. "You're loony. Look right there!"

She took Shadow's arm and tried to turn him so he would look at her father, but he resisted.

"It's a dead body, Sashira. No one's alive in there."

"Don't say that!" Something like panic filled her face. "Just what do you think you're doing? Are you suffering from sun stroke?!"

"I'm not sick, Sashira."

"You're not funny! Stop it! GET OUT!"

The sudden escalation of emotion told Shadow that he had hit upon Sashira's memories, something buried deep inside that she'd forgotten. She shoved him. "GET OUT! GET OUT! I'll have the scouts throw you out if you don't leave!"

"They're just specters, Sashira, spirits cursed to roam this land eternally."

"No they—" Her words caught in her throat. She grabbed her head. "No. Get out!"

Shadow took her by the shoulders. "You _know_ they're not really there, Sashira! Open your eyes and see!"

"N-no!" She shivered.

"Yes!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She grabbed the front of his tunic, and before he knew what was happening, she had turned and flipped him over her shoulder. He landed roughly on his back, seeing stars.

He struggled to pull himself up to his feet again. When he did, he found Sashira with her back against a wall with a horrified expression, staring at nothing, fingers poking into her face as if she couldn't feel her own face. Shadow took a few careful steps toward her, wary for any sign of her reaching to grab him again. When she didn't move, he dared to get just a tad closer.

"When I was little," Sashira explained in a robotic voice, "we lived in a little village. The last of us Garo. There were just a few. Father told me stories about the curse, about the spirits in the valley . . . And then the sickness came." A look like disgusted terror crossed her face. "It was like a curse from the gods. And everyone . . . Father took me away, but he was already infected." She fell silent.

"He died, Sashira," Shadow said. "Look for yourself."

She shook her head violently.

Shadow took her hands gently, and slowly pulled them from her face. " _Look._ "

Her eyes flicked back and forth at the ground, but finally they lifted slightly, just slightly, so she could look at her father's body, then looked away again. Something like calm realization reached her, and she took a longer look.

Bones. Bones and rags. Shadow could tell she saw them for what they were. Sashira wrung her hands. "I was alone . . . I was all alone." Her eyes became feverish again. "But at night, they came, and I was safe! At night . . . but my father was never with them. He always stayed here. But—but—but . . ." The fever left her eyes. "They were already dead?" Suddenly she began to shake, and not just a little. Her legs gave out and her hands went limp in Shadow's own. She crumpled to the floor, and Shadow crouched next to her. "I was alone," she said in the tone of a little girl. "I was all alone. I was so alone." She began breathing rapidly.

"You're not alone anymore, Sashira," Shadow said. He pulled her toward him and held her as she shook and babbled nonsense, her mind trying to make sense of everything that had happened to her. "Here . . . don't try to stand. I'll carry you."

"Where are we going?!" Sashira asked, alarmed.

"Somewhere you won't be alone anymore." Shadow smiled at her, and put his arms around her back and under her knees and hefted her up. "I doubt your father actually meant to leave you here for so long."

Sashira looked back. "Father . . ."

"He'll be safe. I'm sure he won't mind if you leave him be for a while. You can bury him when you're ready." He'd already been there for decades, what was a few more days, weeks, months?

"Oh . . . okay," Sashira said reluctantly.

Shadow's heart was breaking as he carried her outside and began their way back to the music box house. He thought back to when they had first come to this place, when Shadow felt he was going to faint from thirst, and he told Zelly to keep going even if he fell down . . .

He could imagine Sashira's father, trying as hard as he could to get Sashira out of the valley, to safety, and finally collapsing. What had he thought at that time, as he watched Sashira unpack their things inside the cave as he sat and waited for death to take him? What must he have thought, knowing how little chance his young daughter had to survive in the cruel heated days and frozen nights?

What would he have said?

"I love you," Sashira whispered, breaking Shadow out of his thought. He glanced at her strangely.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "We've only just met, first of all, and _second_ . . ."

"That's what he said," she interrupted, in explanation. "The very last thing. He told me I would never be alone, and that he loved me. I remember now. After that . . . it was just conversations I made up in my head."

Shadow grinned. "I guess his love was enough to keep you alive that long, eh?"

Not for the last time, she glanced behind them longingly.

"He's not there, Sashira."

She looked for a moment more, and then turned her head away sadly, slowly.

* * *

"Sashira!" Anton came running. "Are you alright?"

"She's fine!" Shadow replied. "Just . . . awfully tired." He set Sashira down. "Are you going to be alright now?"

Sashira seemed dazed, and didn't answer.

"She's . . . sort of remembered how she got here," Shadow explained. "Do you think she'll . . . be alright?"

Anton looked at her with such great concern. He took her hand in both of his own. Sensing the touch, she glanced up at him, and blinked. "I know you. Anton."

He grinned. "Yes! I'm really sorry about earlier."

She grew uncertain, and turned to Shadow. "Is he . . .?"

One side of Shadow's mouth curled up, but not in a mocking way. "He's alive. He's here in the daytime, see?"

She turned back to Anton, who was still searching her face worriedly. Shadow wasn't positive, but he was pretty sure he saw something sparking between the two.

Well, that made him happy. He felt much better leaving Sashira in the care of someone who would help her.

"I heard you had . . . quite a bad day," Anton said.

Sashira nodded. "I guess I've been alone for a long time."

"Well, you don't have to be alone anymore! We . . . that is, Pamela and I . . . we'd love if you came to stay with us. It's not natural, living out there on your own."

"No . . . No I suppose not."

Pamela and Zelly, who had been watching from the porch, decided to come over. Well, Pamela walked. Zelly shadow-melded.

"Zelly!" Shadow chided. "I told you to keep that secret!"

Zelly just blinked at him. "Yes, Daddy." And she ran around him. Shadow sighed long-sufferingly.

"You can have my blanket," Pamela offered to Sashira. She looked as though she could hardly contain her excitement. "Although I guess you'll want to sleep with Daddy, huh? I've never had a mommy before!"

Both Sashira's and Anton's faces turned red—Anton more than Sashira. They suddenly released each other's hand.

Anton stared at his feet, and shrugged one shoulder. "But seriously . . . you can stay. If you'd like."

Sashira pushed her hair behind one ear. "I . . . I would like that, I think. You're very kind."

"Oh, not at all! It's my pleasure!"

"Zelly and I will be off, then," Shadow interjected. He didn't like hurrying goodbyes, but he really felt they needed to get home as soon as possible.

"Oh!" Anton said, a little disappointed. "So soon? Well," he shook Shadow's hand. "I hope to see you around sometime again, Shadow." He bent down and shook Zelly's hand with a big smile. "I know Pamela will miss her new friend deeply!"

"Goodbye Zelly!" Pamela ran forward and she and Zelly hugged.

"Goodbye . . ." Zelly said with a sad drop in her voice. When they pulled apart, she immediately asked, "Daddy, can we stay and play?"

"No, sweetheart. We have to get back to Mommy, you know that."

"Okay. Sorry Pam, I miss Mommy a lot."

Pamela nodded understandingly. "I just got a new mommy! So . . . will you write to me?"

Zelly nodded. "Yes! Lots!"

Pamela grinned. "Okay. Well, bye then!"

Shadow hugged Sashira goodbye. "Best of luck, Sashira."

"You too, Shadow."

When they pulled away, Shadow found himself unable to look her in the eye for very long. She looked to much like Zelda, reminded him too much of what he'd lost. He picked Zelly up and gave one last wave before heading to Ikana River. Anton, Sashira, and Pamela, looking rather like they belonged to one another, waved them off until they disappeared in the heat waves like mirages.

 _Was any of that real?_ Shadow found himself wondering. He smiled. _I guess it doesn't really matter, does it? It ended happily._

He and Zelly used their shadow powers to get down the cliff and cross the river. On the other side was grass, something they hadn't seen in a long while. The weather's temperature got lower and lower the further away they got from Ikana, and soon Shadow knew they had come upon a place much different.

Termina Field.


	23. Chapter 23

AN: Have an extra chapter!

* * *

Midna awoke suddenly in the middle of the night. Well, Twilight Night. She had gotten accustomed to the Light World's change from overly bright to overly night during her travels with Link . . . but she much preferred the consistent Dusk of the Twilight Realm to any of that. She got out of bed and went to the window.

 _So . . . Saria's chosen to leave as well_. Something about those two . . . it was like they were connected somehow. Honestly, she hadn't seen such a connection since . . . since she and Link fought together.

It was Saria's disappearance that had wakened her. She had expected to feel her Light power the second she made it to the window, but apparently Saria had learned how to mask her presence. Midna smirked. _She must be spending a lot of time with Princess Zelda._ Still, she was impressed with the extent of the young girl's magical capabilities.

Midna floated out of the window and flew across the clouds of twilight. Saria was pretty good at magic for her age . . . but not quite good enough to hide from the Twilight Princess.

It was only a few minutes of swift travel before Midna caught up to the little bird and transformed her back to her Hylian self.

"How did you find me?!" Saria exclaimed, annoyed.

"Have you forgotten I'm the powerful princess here? If you truly want to hide, you'll need to practice more. Where are you off to?"

Saria made emphatic gestures with her arms. "I have to find Vaati!"

Midna nodded. "I thought so, but how are you going to do that?"

"I can feel him."

An eyebrow raised. "Really?"

Saria nodded. "He has an ocarina that has Light Magic in it. Also for some reason he leaves a trail of magic behind that I can read."

Midna placed a thoughtful finger on her chin. "How interesting." It really was curious. If Midna didn't know any better, she'd think Saria was Zelda's child with how much magical ability she was exhibiting. "Well, where is he headed?"

"To his crumbled old castle!" Saria was visibly upset.

Midna crouched down. "The Twilight Realm is safe enough because I can protect it. I can't say the same for the rest of the Dark World out there. No creature dared venture toward that castle when it was sealed, but I have no idea what lurks around there now."

"I have to find Vaati! He's all alone and he's going to get hurt!"

Her stubborn rebelliousness made Midna grin. "Don't worry. We can go much faster with my magic. Take my hand and tell me where to go."

Saria's eyes widened. Her hand swiped out and grabbed Midna's with extra gusto, then pointed across the horizon. "THAT WAY!"

* * *

Zelda was bedridden, still recovering from childbirth. Her body was tired, but her brain was on fire.

Meaning, she had lots of mental energy but her mind was too fuzzy to actually think of anything productive. It was terrible.

She had finished nursing Sheik, who was soundly asleep in the crib situated next to her bed.

As if waking every three hours to feed her baby didn't keep her tired enough, her nightmares were getting worse.

She rolled over to her side and placed a hand on Shadow's pillow. _Where are you, my love? You'd get me better in a minute . . ._

She was actually wearing one of his tunics as a night gown. She brought the collar up to her nose and sniffed. It smelled like him. It was strange to think of Shadow with a smell. He hadn't always had one, after all.

Every time something new like that happened, she thanked her lucky stars that Link had turned her down when she revealed her feelings about him years and years ago. It's true, he turned her down. She'd been very depressed about it at the time. After all, Link was one of her most trusted friends and allies. Now she had Shadow, though, and every time she thought about having him she smiled.

She didn't like comparing and knew she was biased, but . . . _He's much better than Link!_

Nicer, more handsome, more interesting . . . and he actually loved her back. Even now, she imagined feeling the pull of his love from wherever he was in the universe. She knew he thought of her often.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she sensed danger. She turned to look at a dark corner of the room, and there saw a single, large, menacing eye materializing out of the shadows. " _Vaati!_ " She hurried to her elbows, leaping out of bed and quickly gathering Sheik protectively in her arms.

The eye melted into the shadows, which became the figure of a man. A weasel-faced man with fangs and mad eyes. "Oh, princess! You are truly the most beautiful being in Hyrule!"

Zelda backed unsteadily away, her body still weak. She kept the crib between her and the sorcerer. "What do you want?" she demanded, clutching Sheik close to her and away from Vaati, looking over her shoulder at the sorcerer.

He grinned maniacally. "I want my son back!" He floated to the other side of the bed from Zelda. "The poor boy disappeared and I want to know where he went." He suddenly disappeared, and reappeared right in front of Zelda, face contorted with rage. "I suspect he's in Hyrule! You can't hide him from me, princess!"

"I don't know what you mean!" Zelda replied firmly, shrinking from the sorcerer, but her face betrayed no fear.

Vaati rolled his eyes and floated a few feet away and then flattened himself against the ceiling. "Oh don't tell me you're innocent! I attacked your castle and you took my child in revenge!" He pointed a sharp fingernail in her direction.

"Vaati, you're mistaken," Zelda said, her voice shaking.

Power radiated around Vaati as he dove to the ground, making the whole room shake. His eyes flashed with red electricity as he snarled. "DON'T lie to me!"

Zelda's legs buckled under the quaking and she sat on the ground.

Vaati reached out a hand and strode toward her.

"DON'T HURT MY BABY!" Zelda curled herself over Sheik protectively.

Sheik had finally soaked in the negative feelings and decided to make his voice heard. He wailed, more angry about being woken up so rudely than scared.

Vaati's hand paused, and slowly his power disintegrated with each new cry. "Vaati!" he said, suddenly. "Oh there you are!" Using magic, he stole Sheik from Zelda's arms and pulled him into his own.

Zelda got to her feet. "Don't hurt him! Take me, don't hurt him!" She got ready to charge at him, mustering every bit of magic she could. Her hands barely collected enough static to shock somebody as a prank. She kept trying, frustrated.

Vaati rocked Sheik with practiced hands, patting the newborn's back. "Poor junior, where'd your mother go?" Sheik soon stopped crying, and just muttered noises.

Pausing, Zelda wondered at Vaati's strange behavior. She wanted to rip Sheik from his arms, but she was too afraid of hurting him in the process, and she didn't want to infuriate Vaati. She didn't want there to be a magic fight with Sheik in the room. How could she protect him?

Even so, she could sense that Vaati's hostility had somehow vanished. Sheik kept making noises, and Vaati exclaimed, "He's hungry."

"I just fed him," Zelda replied automatically, exasperatedly.

Vaati finally took notice of her again. "Oh! Are you a wet nurse?"

 _He's completely mad_. "Yes!" she lied.

Vaati returned Sheik to her arms. "There you go, you should feed him, he's hungry! I'm going to go find who's responsible for this!"

Zelda cuddled Sheik closely, still eyeing Vaati warily, but the sorcerer was headed to the door. He paused and looked back. A flash of utter confusion crossed his face as he stared at Sheik. _Please,_ Zelda prayed, _Just leave!_

At first she thought Vaati had come to his senses, but then he shook his head and left the room.

 _So Vaati has a son named after him?_ She looked at Sheik. _And he mistook you for him?_ At first she wondered if it was some sort of cloaking spell Sheik had exhibited, but she quickly found out that wasn't the case. He hadn't done any magic.

Zelda breathed a sigh of relief that Vaati was gone and Sheik was safe, but she couldn't rest. She needed to alert the guards . . . to . . . she hobbled to the window, feeling faint. She grabbed the windowsill for support and looked out.

Before her very eyes a magical barrier was being erected around the castle, slowly separating her and the other castle residents from the rest of the world. _No . . ._ she hated when this happened. You'd think she'd have a counter spell put in place by now. Well, she WOULD have, but trying to maintain such a counter spell for an indefinite amount of time was too exhausting. It would require too much magic. She groaned.

Was she really kidnapped _again?_


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 23

Malon shoved the pitch fork into the bale of hay and threw the whole thing into the feeding bin of her cow Bessy. She mopped her brow and walked to the next stall.

Russ' yell caused her to drop the pitch fork and sprint out of the barn. "What'sa ruckus? Russ! Where are ya!"

"Mama! Up here!" Russ was standing on the roof of their house. He had been adamant about keeping watch across Hyrule Field. "Somebody's coming from the trail to Ordon! A whole BUNCH of people!" His voice shook. "I think they're moblins, Mama!"

Malon forced herself to be brave. "Don't worry!" She yelled back. "Papa says they're on our side! How do I get up there?!"

Russ pointed to the far side of the house. Malon ran across the yard and found a ladder. She climbed it, got onto the roof, climbed the next ladder to the second story, and soon stood next to Russ. Russ handed her a telescope. Malon looked through it where Russ gestured.

A bunch of little people, all right. They were still very far away, but Malon was sure she could see horns on some of them. _Moblins . . ._

"Are they coming here, Mama?"

Malon didn't answer for five minutes. "I reckon so," she finally answered. Well, there was nothing for it. Link wasn't here, but there was no way she'd brave the field with the way things were, all them monsters. And besides, the moblins were allies, right? She closed the telescope and started off the roof. "We're gonna need your papa's fairy sword."

"All RIGHT, I get to use Papa's sword!"

Malon looked at him sharply. "Who said anythin' about YOU usin' it?! That sword's for yer mama, kiddo! You go put Tatl and Tael in the cellar, and STAY THERE!"

"Yes, Mama." As soon as Russ followed Malon to the ground, he ran off, only slightly disappointed.

Malon hurried to the log house that sat on the east side of the ranch. Link had added onto it, so it was much larger than it was in her childhood. It held many memories for Malon, this house.

War was not a memory she liked repeating.

She stepped inside, her boots clanking noisily on the floorboards. Any other day and she would never have brought the dirty things inside. There was no time for that, though. She crossed the small, cozy living room and went up the stairs and down the hall. She didn't bother to close the bedroom door behind her. She pulled out a loose slat in the wall, behind which held a small, silver skeleton key. Grabbing it, she closed the slat and used a broom to open the attic door overhead. _No time for ladders!_ She grabbed the nearest chair, plopped it underneath the hole, stood on top of it, and with a grunt befitting someone who'd cared for cows her whole life, pulled herself into the attic.

She pushed aside a few rugs, cloths, boxes, and quickly found the ominous chests laying at the end of the attic, right beneath the window. Three black rock chests, one of differing size, with threatening looking padlocks and silver screws. The level of dust on their surfaces and in their crevices reminded her how long these things had remained under lock and key Hidden away, but never quite forgotten.

She had to take a steadying breath to make the distance. Using the skeleton key, she opened one of the smaller chests and quickly opened the lid.

A musty, old leather smelled assaulted her nose . . . but it wasn't entirely unpleasant. She remembered how Link smelled back then. All metal and leather and . . . rotten smelling concoctions from the potion shop. It was a familiar smell, but an unsettling one. Just inside were Link's Ordon clothes, and underneath those was his Kokiri outfit. Underneath that was his full tunic of chain mail and his signature green tunic. This last thing was full of stitched up holes and covered in patches (many Malon had put in herself). Link kept it now mostly as a keepsake.

 _Is this the wrong chest? It's gotta be somewhere . . . ah!_ She got her fingers around the small sliver of scabbard she spotted beneath the clothes and pulled the sword out of the chest.

It was Link's sword from his time in Termina—he'd given the Fairy Sword back to the Kokiri years ago, and besides, Malon thought his Termina blade looked more like a fairy sword anyway.

It had cross hatch patterns of gold and green, and despite looking like gold, was made of some kind of nigh unbreakable material, she knew. The hilt felt . . . somewhat fitting in her hand. She waved it around in the hilt a little bit, testing its weight. Hey, when you chuck hay bales all day, a puny sword ain't _nothin'_.

Finally she got a firm grip on the sword, her other hand taking hold of the scabbard, and prepared to pull the sword out. With one more sigh to dismiss her anxiety, she pulled, copying one of Link's grunting noises.

The blade was gorgeous, or at least Malon thought so. She was surprised at how maneuverable the sword was, even though she'd never touched this or any other sword in her entire life.

Her husband was Captain of the Guard. She had to look the part of such a person's wife. Fumbling a few times, she managed to put the sword back in its scabbard, then strapped the whole thing to her back. She lifted her hair up and out of the way, then she closed the chest, put the key around her neck and left the attic.

Outside, she could already hear the sound of hoof beats beyond the ranch walls and up the road a little bit. She tromped down the dirt path to the ranch gates. She made a check list in her mind. Did she forget anything? Did she have a plan? Where was her father—off selling milk, of course. _Fine time for that man to decide to pull 'is weight around here!_

Soon the hoof beats became louder and louder. Malon thought for sure they would slow down before turning the corner and approaching the ranch, but the moblins with their pig mounts showed no sign of stopping.

The only thing keeping Malon from immediately retreating was the sight of the Ordon villagers, also riding on Bulbins. They looked worn, tired. When the group finally arrived at the gates, they all skidded to a halt and moblins began jumping off their mounts, screeching at each other, and scattering in all directions around the ranch. Malon noticed that many of their weapons were glowing strangely, but she set that thought aside.

"What are you doing?!" She noticed one start to climb the wall. _Just . . . go through the gate?_

The Ordon villagers dismounted more slowly. Malon spotted Ilia, who ran up to the rancher with an urgent look on her face. "Malon, is your family inside?"

"Yes, all but Link and Papa and . . . you know," she alluded to Saria and Melody.

Ilia took her wrist. "The moblins say we have to take a stand here."

"A stand here? From what?!"

"The darkness—I can't explain!" She interrupted Malon before she'd even begun. "The moblins will set up around the walls to stop the darkness, but we must hurry or it will be for naught! Please trust me, Malon."

Malon nodded firmly and opened the gate for the villagers. All the bulbins were herded inside. Malon was glad she hadn't let the horses out to pasture yet. The poor dears would have the fright of their life at the sight of these monstrous, tusked pigs! Once they were all rounded into the corral, Malon turned her attention back to the villagers. They were running around the ranch in groups, each group accompanied by a funny looking moblin Malon could only describe as some sort of shaman. Priest? Did moblins have deities?

Wait, yes, they did. Hyrule had just learned that when the treaty began. Bellum was their 'god,' but the moblins, the majority anyway, no longer worshiped him. Malon wondered what the function of a priest had turned into as a result.

There were four priests, and each held a staff with a glowing orb hanging from a chain attached to the top. The spheres wobbled back and forth as if with a mind of their own. The priests followed the groups of villagers, who placed their hands on the orbs. When they pulled their hands away, they, too, were glowing. Then they said some strange words, the priest waved his staff around and maybe it was a trick of the light, but it looked like each section of space they waved at suddenly grew . . . brighter.

Malon put her hands on her hips. "Hm." She put a hand next to her mouth and called, "Ilia!"

Ilia soon joined her.

"What's going on? What are they doing to my ranch?"

"The Light Spirits . . ." Ilia began, then paused as she visibly collected her thoughts. Then she faced Malon and with earnestness, explained, "The Light Spirits have expelled themselves from the corners of the world. It's the only way to protect the world's Light. If the darkness overtakes even one of them . . ." She shook her head. "It will be permanent. Our world will never be the same."

"The darkness. Is that like the Twilight?"

"Worse. You can come back from Twilight."

Malon sensed there was a lot more in that statement than Ilia's words could say.

"Anyway," Ilia continued, "The moblins . . . somehow they're able to hold the darkness back. Somewhat. It keeps growing stronger and soon even they will be helpless. They will protect the land for as long as possible, but the Darkness is growing fast. Until Link . . . Until we can find a way to push the darkness back completely, we MUST protect the Light Spirits!"

"What about the castle?" Malon asked. "Wouldn't that be a better place? Lots more people, too . . ."

Ilia sighed. "Don't you get it? We barely made it _here_ alive."

Confused, Malon crossed her eyebrows, then slowly turned and ran to the ladder against the house, the same one she and Russ had climbed earlier. She reached the roof and looked over the walls and out across Hyrule Field.

And instantly recoiled.

Hadn't it just been an hour ago that the field had been green and undisturbed? Now it was . . . it was nothingness, and that nothingness was already lapping at the walls of Lon Lon Ranch. She watched as the darkness swiftly overtook the field until it finally passed the ranch entirely and headed to Castle Town. Swallowing everything in its path like evil lava.

Malon shivered.

The moblins who had climbed the walls shot arrows of twisted magic at the darkness. Others were on the field slashing at it fiercely. Still others were fighting . . . _figures_. Things that looked remotely person-shaped, but . . . weren't. They could morph and change like shadows in bending light.

The edges of the ranch itself were glowing so brightly Malon knew it was not a trick of the light. The priests and villagers and Light Spirits had done something to protect Lon Lon Ranch from the Darkness.

Her eye was caught by a large blip on the horizon from the direction of Ordon. A horn blew from the field, answered by incessant chattering among the moblins and an answering horn blast. Wishing she'd brought the telescope from earlier, she put a hand over her eyes and squinted at the blip.

The blip soon became the large form of a being covered in white and dark purple magicks, twisting all over its body like the roots of a tree. It took a moment for Malon to recognize King Bulblin, racing on his steed toward the ranch. He pounded through shadow creatures and charged full tilt at the gates. Two moblins barely got the gates open in time for King Bulblin to not stampede them into dust.

The moblin king skidded to a halt and dismounted. "HE IS COMING!"

Malon hurried off the roof and ran up to the moblin king, who was currently shouting orders to his troops. Up close, she could see weariness in his face, tiredness in his limbs. How long had they been running like this? "King Bulblin."

He acknowledged her with a nod. "Mother of Melody."

Malon suddenly bristled. This was the creature who was responsible for Melody leaving home! She raised her chin in the air and refused to let her mind be clouded. There were lives at stake—including her daughter's and her other children's. "You said someone was coming?"

King Bulblin nodded. "A terrible, cursed beast. We tried to release him from the darkness in Ordon, but his connection to Bellum was already too strong. Now that we have been joined by the other Light Spirits, we may just have a chance!"

"If you don't mind me sayin', you look mighty beat."

King Bulblin threw his head back and guffawed. Then he flashed his fangs at her happily. "This is the most tasking battle I have fought since fighting with The Hero. I shall not fail you, Mother of Melody, of that you have my promise." He hefted his weapon over his shoulder. "Now. Are you good with a sword?"

Malon straightened in surprise. "No. But this is my ranch and I'll defend it. With pitch fork and old stinky boots if I have to!"

King Bulblin grinned wryly at her. "The Hero chose his mate well, I see. Such loyalty to one's land is not found in Moblin kind. I shall enjoy fighting next to you Malon, Mother of Melody."

Malon drew Link's sword from its scabbard. She planted the point in the ground and laid her hands on the pommel. "If you don't mind me sayin' so, I'd rather puke. Fightin' ain't my thing, ya see."

"I mind not at all, though you will dull your blade doing that."

Malon pulled it out of the ground. "Good. Then I'll have a proper club!"

Another horn blast, from the walls of the ranch. King Bulblin turned his ear toward it, before turning back to Malon urgently.

"He is on the horizon," King Bulbin explained. "Do you have a place for the villagers to hide?"

Malon nodded, feeling sick. She showed the villagers the cellar where three of her children were already bundled together. Tatl and Tael sat in Russ' lap. All three were more still than usual. Beth climbed down into the cellar, clutching her baby tightly. "I'll keep things calm down here," she said. "You just leave the little ones to me." She was joined by some of the other villagers. A few stayed out to help where they could.

King Bulblin rallied his troops around the ranch. Malon did her best to not have a heart attack as they somehow managed to completely topple the corral fence within minutes, freeing the bulbins and mounting them.

One thing bothered her. Malon didn't understand why King Bulblin left the trapdoor to the cellar so badly guarded—just four moblins was all.

She didn't have time to argue, though, because she was jostled here and there until she found her perch on the cucco fence.

A terrifying roar froze her in place. _What was that?! It sounded bigger than an elephant!_ She'd never seen an elephant, but they were always so big in the pictures in her kids' story books. She clutched her sword with both hands.

Over the lip of the high ranch wall, a thin, sharp appendage appeared and clutched the wall. This was followed by other appendages. The giant things reminded Malon of spider legs, which did not help her mood at all.

 _I hate spiders!_

Already she was standing, pointing her sword at the thing even though it was over a hundred yards away.

Moblins attacked the thing's legs, others tried to lasso them with ropes and chains. The spider thing thrashed, sending a moblin flying with each kick, like swatting at mosquitoes. The creature's body followed, and Malon really thought she might throw up after all.

It was hideous, an unnerving ribcage with black skin stretched taught around it, the shallow breathing. The head lolling from an unnaturally long neck. The mouth that drooled green acid that even now burned the ranch walls like a knife through butter. There was lower body, it was like the creature just melted into its back legs. It had four legs, but multiple appendages on its back that morphed into whatever it liked, a whip, a rope—electric magic shot along its back and shot out of every limb at the mobbing moblins, trying to get the tiny buggers off of it—and apparently were ranged weapons to boot.

Steady but surely the monster was breaching the walls, and soon began to descend into the ranch. Suddenly, with a mighty leap, it dove into the largest group of moblins in the ranch, mouth open, belly flopping to crush everyone and everything underfoot. Malon suddenly understoof why King Bulblin hadn't put many troops by the cellar.

That thing raced right into biggest legion of moblins without even blinking—that is, assuming it could blink.

"WHAT IS THAT THING?!" Malon shouted. With one sweep of a leg, it toppled five moblins. The moblins fought to get back up, but it was clear they were outmatched.

"He's weaker near the Light Spirits," Ilia's voice said from behind her. Malon turned to look at her, and Ilia continued, "They're what he's after. He's trying to destroy them for . . . for Bellum, I suspect."

"One question, and I know it sounds strange . . ." Malon balked at the creature. "How on Din's earth do you know its a 'he'?"

Ilia glanced at her. Then back at the creature. "Oh. That's right, you don't know yet. That's . . . that's Shad, Malon."

Malon tore her eyes from the battle to gawk at Ilia. "WHAT?!"

"The darkness . . . it changes you." She glanced worriedly at Malon. "Don't let the darkness touch you, okay?"

Malon nodded, but had lost the feeling in her extremities. She poked her sword in the ground and leaned on it again, waiting for the monster to reach her side of the ranch. It was only a matter of time. _Hot diggedy._


	25. Chapter 25

"What in tarnation!" Talon blinked himself awake at the sound of a cucco crowing into his ear.

Russ stood in front of him, hugging a cucco. "Grandpop, Mama's outside and she needs help!"

Talon stood up on his creaky knees. He was NOT as young as he used to be . . . "What's going on?"

"Moblins! We're going to hide in the cellar! Mama's gettin' Papa's sword!"

Talon watched Russ run out of the house, the cucco in his arms bucking along with every step. Talon grabbed a pitch fork that was lying around. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he couldn't help the habitual thought: _Gotta teach them kids to put tools back where they belong!_

* * *

The monster Shad, whom the moblins were calling Belshad because he had been cursed by Bellum, resembled a giant alien preying mantis, except all of its legs resembled the bug's front legs, and his head, on top of an elongated neck, was shaped like a large, rotten potato. Belshad stood at least fifty feet tall, and each leg pincer was the size of a horse. He leapt from the wall and landed in the center of the ranch, and the earth rumbled under him, his feet piercing holes in the ground. He opened his jagged, ear-splitting mouth and chomped down at the nearest moblin.

The moblins screamed battle cries as they threw ropes around the beast's legs, trying to subdue him before he could do more damage to the ranch. Others shot arrows at him, and they landed like tiny pin pricks, making Belshad roar in annoyance, but otherwise not affecting him. The moblins on the cliffs shot bomb arrows, and their smoke at least blinded Belshad for a moment. He picked up a leg that had ropes twirled around it and ripped it away from the moblins, though some brave moblins held on and went for a thrill ride through the air. Belshad leapt into the air and pounded into the earth, causing everyone to be off balance. Still they tried to rope him down. He knocked aside a dozen moblins with his head, stabbing at them with his legs. The moblins redoubled their efforts, shooting arrows, bomb arrows, spears, smoke bombs, and plain flat junk at Belshad.

Belshad decided he had had enough of this, and began flailing about in a rage, dislodging the moblins attacks and running deeper into the ranch.

"CRIMINILLY, HERE HE COMES!" Malon shouted, hefting the Fairy Sword. She and Ilia ran in opposite directions, and Belshad landed right where they used to be, his legs digging six foot holes in the ground. _We better keep 'im away from the cellar. He might right dig it up!_ Malon knew this was Shad, and Ilia cared about him, but there was NO WAY she was letting him hurt her kids!

"HEY YOU!" She charged past Belshad's legs and got underneath him. Hadn't Link said something about the belly being a soft spot for some baddies? That or the eyes. Belshad didn't have any eyes. She positioned herself right underneath his belly and thrust her sword upward with all her might.

The sword bounced right off. _Oy! Hard as nails, he is!_

In response, Belshad lifting his belly up—then brought it back down, right on Malon's head. She screamed, and when she realized she wasn't dead yet, stood back up. Belshad had moved loser to the buildings, and the moblins were finally catching up. Malon realized she was in a magic bubble. She looked behind her and found one of the Moblin priests motioning at her. _He must have saved me!_ She waved. "Thanks!" Then she charged at Belshad again.

Ilia had stationed herself on the roof of the barn, pulling out her slingshot and shooting Deku nuts at Belshad, trying to get as close to his head as possible. He may not appear to have eyes, but he sure acted like he did! It had a remarkable effect. So much so that Belshad became enraged and charged at Ilia.

Ilia ran to the edge of the roof and leapt off just as Belshad's jaws clamped shut overhead. He charged through the building, ripping it to shreds. The sounds of terrified cows filled the air.

"DON' HURT MAH ANIMALS!" Malon shouted at him. "COVER ME, PRIEST!" She took a rope from an unsuspecting moblin and quickly tied it into a lasso. She ran forward and threw the lasso at Belshad, where it latched onto the spikes on the backside of Belshad's front legs. Belshad pulled his leg into the air, and Malon was pulled along with it. "NOW!" She held out her sword. A flash of magic shot from the priest to the sword, and it sparked with electricity. Belshad was swinging her into his mouth. She smirked. She let go of the rope to avoid this, and instead headed straight for Belshad's snout. She gave a loud yell, pulled the sword back, and as soon as she was close enough, stabbed it down onto the beast's nose.

The first sound that resembled whining emitted from Belshad's mouth. He flung his snout around, and Malon hollered. A normal person would have let go of the sword and fallen, but Malon held on to her sword for dear life. It wasn't much different from riding a bucking horse—not that she had to do that often. She preferred the slower, more patient approach to horse training.

"YEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAW!"

Her arms getting tired, Malon looked around for a way to return to the ground without dying. She saw King Bulbin charging on his bulblin—he looked strange, like he was filled with both light and dark, and they twisted around each other across his body and that of the Bulblin. He waved his weapon at her. "Malon the Beast Tamer! Let go, I will catch you!"

"Malon the Beast Tamer?! . . . I like the sound o' that!" She got her feet pressed firmly against Belshad's snout on either side of her sword. "Jus' a minute. Gotta get my sword!" She pulled with all her might and the sword came free, and she fell.

 _Beast tamer's don' scream_ , she told herself as she fell. _BEAST TAMERS DON'T—_ "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH YOU BETTER CATCH ME YOU GIANT PIG MAN!"

King Bulblin's pig mount leapt into the air . . . and kept climbing.

 _Wow, I guess pigs really can fly_ , Malon couldn't help thinking as the bulbin caught up with her and King Bulbin pulled her out of the air and onto the saddle. The bulbin landed roughly and galloped away from the newly enraged beast.

Belshad thrashed all around, destroying what was left of the barn, then charged after them, sideswiping the two-story house on the way. His talons scraped up trenches, and suddenly a pile of brick came up with the dirt. Malon's heart rose to her throat. That was the roof to the cellar!

"LEAD HIM OUT OF THE RANCH!" Malon yelled to King Bulblin. "OUT OF THE RANCH!"

"If you fall on the ground, the darkness will take you!"

Malon reached up and grabbed King Bulblin's horn and pulled his ear hole down so she could scream into it. "DO Y'THINK I CARE? WE GOTTA GET THAT MONSTER AWAY FROM MY BABIES! **NOW!** "

King Bulblin nodded once and directed his bulbin to the ranch's entrance. The bulbin broke the gate apart with its tusks and ran onto the field.

The field was unrecognizable, a giant expanse of glowing black . . . water? Whatever the bulbin kicked up under its hooves, it wasn't dust. It wasn't square particles, like Twilight. It was just . . . inexplicably _there._ There were no sounds of the field she'd grown up with. In fact, it was utterly silent. "What is this stuff?"

"Anti-matter."

"Okay." Malon looked behind them. Belshad was chasing after them quickly. Behind him, the ranch quickly disappeared behind a layer of fog. By Malon's quick calculations, they were moving away faster than any horse. "What do we do, now?"

"I know not. This was your idea!"

"Use that weapon thing of yours!"

"It is not enough!"

"HE'S CATCHIN' UP TO US!"

"RAAAAAAUGH!" King Bulblin turned in his seat and threw his magical axe into the ground behind them. It cracked the ground and sent a giant shockwave of light pulsing through the field. Belshad skidded to a halt before the crack. It kept him busy for just a few minutes before the darkness ate the light up.

"We got more where that came from?" Malon asked.

"No," King Bulblin answered grimly.

"THEN WHY DID YOU THROW IT?! YOU BUMBLING MORON! JUST SLICE THE GROUND OR SOMETHING!"

"That . . . would have been sufficient."

"Oh, why do I gotta do EVERYTHING myself?" Malon put her feet on the saddle, used King Bulblin's shoulders to steady her, and stood on the bulbin's back. She struggled to get her sword out on top of the galloping bulbin, and then stared at it. "Now how'd he do this . . . um . . ." She sliced the air behind them.

Nothing happened . . . aside from a wimpy _whop!_ through the air.

"Hm," she thought out loud. "Maybe only the hero can do it."

Belshad suddenly stopped gaining on them.

 _What is he . . ._

He slowed to a stop. Malon gasped. "He's heading back to the ranch!"

"We do not hold enough Light to hold his attention."

Malon growled, her entire body filling with righteous rage. "NOOOOO YOU DON'T! C'MERE YOU POMPOUS, BIRD-BRAINED NERD!" She hefted the Fairy sword with both hands, held it over her head, and with a mighty heave, brought it down. A flash of magical light shot from the sword, straight at Belshad. It hit him with a loud thunderclap, and the monster stumbled and fell to the ground.

"YEEEEHAW!" Malon grabbed one of King Bulblin's horns to keep from falling off the bulbin.

A sound of thundering steps going a hundred miles an hour reached her ears. Belshad appeared out of the fog, going faster than he had before, and also . . . bigger than he was. "In the dark, Light magic just makes him bigger! CRIMINILLY!"

 _Oh well_ , she thought. _As long as it keeps him far away from the ranch!_

But who was she kidding? If he'd gotten faster, there was no way they'd avoid him for much longer. He'd destroy them, and head back to the ranch anyway.

King Bulblin spurred their bulbin on, but the poor animal was beginning to pant hoarsely. Malon watched behind them as Belshad got closer and closer. _There's gotta be a way out of this!_

"Ahead!" King Bulblin shouted. "A light!"

Malon spun. The moblin king was right. On the horizon, there was a shining light. "Maybe we can make it!"

"Yes, if the Goddeses intervene."

"Well don't give up yet, my pig man!" She once more hefted the Fairy sword, and with a mighty yell sliced through the air above their heads. The light beam sliced through the fog above their heads, igniting it into sparks until it exploded hundreds of feet in the air. It was beautiful, like a giant, close up star. Or so Malon imagined.

Too soon, though, the darkness around it swallowed it whole.

Her awe was interrupted by a throaty roar, much too close. Belshad shot out of the shadows, his large head only meters from their bulbin. The ground quaked beneath them, and Malon lost her footing. She cried out as something smashed into her chest, throwing her off the bulbin and landing in the darkness.

It felt horrid, worse than freezing water, worse than pin pricks, worse than anything she'd ever experienced. It wasn't pain, it was _fear_. She forced herself to sit up. The darkness was climbing over her legs, her dress, and up her arms. She pulled her arms to herself and the darkness receded from them. She tried to look around.

The Fairy Sword! The darkness fed on the sword greedily, causing the metal to begin sizzling. Malon crawled toward it, trying to keep control of her limbs as the darkness spread across them. She couldn't breathe, there was nothing to breathe, she had no lungs, there was no—

She reached a hand out to the sword, the only bit of Light left, as she watched the darkness slowly creep down her arm to the last bit of light she held in her hand.

A distant, melodic howl broke through the air. "Link!" she yelled. "Oh, Link, oh Dear Goddeses, don't be my imagination!" With a surge of strength, she reached out and grabbed the Fairy Sword. The darkness stopped progressing. As long as the sword remained, she would not be completely swallowed by the darkness.

That is, if Belshad didn't get her first. She could hear him, sniffing around for her. She heard the squeals of a bulbin, and wondered if King Bulblin was even still alive.

 _Thump._

If she could still feel her body, she knew she'd be shaking and, though she hated to admit it, crying.

 _Thump._

It wasn't supposed to be like this. All she'd ever wanted was for a knight to come sweep her off her feet and carry her to a castle that had every kind of horse imaginable—

 _ **THUMP**_.

It was right over her head. She scrunched her eyes shut.

A rush of air passed by overhead, and light suddenly exploded through her eyelids. It felt . . . so warm . . . she opened her eyes.

Belshad was thrashing ahead. An animal of some kind was flitting in between his legs, biting and clawing where it could. Trails of light followed the animal, burning Belshad wherever it hit him. He tried to escape from the light-wielding animal. Malon realized it was the animal that had jumped over her before, dispelling the darkness that held her captive. She stood up and pulled the now decrepit-looking Fairy Sword from the ground. She was in a tiny bubble of light. It was a different light, though, like the kind King Bulbin had wielded—a mix of dark and light magic, the only thing that seemed capable of holding back the darkness.

The animal that bore the light sped away from Belshad and, panting happily, spun in circles, tail wagging, until a nice bubble of light covered the space around him. It was a wolf with blue eyes.

Malon's heart lifted. "Link!"

She wasn't sure if Link had heard—yes he did. He had dog ears, after all. His body morphed until it was indeed Link standing there. He held King Bulbin's discarded axe in his hands. The weapon still pulsed with Moblin magic. Link hefted it behind his back, and Malon swore she saw the Triforce on the back of Link's left hand. Her heart skipped a bit as Link brought the axe down on the earth. Moblin magic exploded from the weapon with a humongous shock wave. It spanned several hundred feet ahead in forty-five degree angles from where the axe hit the earth, the darkness between disappearing completely. The magic flowed all the way to Belshad, who shrank from it and stumbled over his legs to get away.

"Malon!"

She glanced back. Link was running toward her, his worried blue eyes healing her heart immediately and chasing all her fear away. She grinned brightly and held out her arms as she waited patiently for the blond-headed hunk of a man that was in fact HER husband to reach her. Link threw his arms around her and clutched her to himself tightly.

"I thought I'd lost you," Link whispered.

Malon snuggled against his chest, sighing contentedly and wrapping her own arms around his chest. "I knew you'd see my light signal."

"Thank the goddesses I did!"

"That light. Was it you?"

"It was King Bulblin's axe I was on my way home when the darkness came. It turned me into a wolf again. I don't remember much until I found the axe. It was like a beacon, shining through the dark at me. I figured out how to use it to fight the darkness real quick."

Malon giggled. "Of course you did, my knight in shining armor!"

Link couldn't resist a smirk. Then his face gave way to fear. "The kids . . . Talon . . ."

Malon smiled as bravely as they could. "They're protected at the ranch by King Bulblin's army. But Link, they can't defeat the beast without you. You have to get there. Hurry!" She suddenly realized she had no idea where in Hyrule she was because of the fog. "How do we get back?"

"Don't worry," Link replied. "I'll sniff my way back. Climb on my back."

"What?"

"Piggy-back time! Like when we were kids!"

Malon raised an eyebrow, but listened. Link crouched down and Malon jumped and threw her arms over his shoulders. Before she could even speak a word, she suddenly found herself sitting on the back of a giant wolf. "EEK!" She gripped the fur on the animal's back and hugged his torso with her legs as if he were a pony.

Link turned his head around to give her a wolfish smile.

"What about King Bulblin?" Malon asked. Link ruffed in a comforting way. He must already have seen the moblin king and knew he would be fine. "Well alright, then." She leaned forward a bit, and Link took off. His fur brushed Malon's arms, and the wind came so fast she ducked down to get away from it. Well, getting carried away by a man who could turn into a giant wolf was unusual, but definitely okay with her!

Malon had known things would turn out—they always did—but for the first time since the moblins had arrived that day, her heart believed it. A glimmer of hope finally sparked.


	26. Chapter 26

AN: It's baaaaaack!

* * *

Chapter Le GET THE SHAD!

Termina field was extremely reminiscent of Hyrule Field, and yet somehow wilder. Overgrown grass dominated the field, and so did many strange monsters Shadow had never seen before. Shadow was happy to be away from the scorching heat of Ikana, but he missed it as well. Probably due to the fact that his soul knew it as home, even if his mind couldn't remember it. Zelly slept on his back in a makeshift sling made from a large piece of cloth. He found her presence a comfort, as he hadn't been on his own quite like this since he had banished himself to the Dark World with Ganondorf years ago. He felt her take in a shuddering breath and then sigh contentedly.

 _She's probably happy to be out of the heat, too_ , he surmised. Their friends in the Music Box House had said to head west, and that was just what he meant to do. However, it was beginning to get dark, and one thing Shadow was hopelessly bad at was survival in the wild. The dead desert was one thing. There were actually animals here, possibly hungry ones—those were a thing, right? Animals that ate you?

Sometimes being mortal wasn't as attractive as he thought.

Also, food. He'd forgotten all about that. He used to think you could just grab random stuff and eat it. He learned the hard way. He still remembered the wretched taste of the potion Zelda had made for him to fix his poisoned blood and foaming mouth and heaving stomach and . . . and other uncomfortable bodily upsets.

Don't eat underripe scoot fruits!

His stomach growled again. Zelly stirred. "Daddy, your tummy is noisy."

"I'm sorry, pretty girl, did I wake you?"

Zelly rubbed one of her eyes. "Yes."

An involuntary smirk crossed his features. "We'll find food somewhere, don't worry. Then you won't have to hear Daddy's tummy make noises." He was beginning to feel weak, actually, like his body wouldn't much respond, and his legs were beginning to shake. He was vaguely aware this was the effect of fatigue and hunger, but that didn't make it any less uncomfortable OR frightening. He tried to keep calm, even if he couldn't control anything else.

His stomach growled again, and Zelly leaned away from him. "I think I want to walk on the ground."

Truthfully, that would help a lot. "Alright, then."

They walked side by side, and a few minutes later a large structure loomed in the distance. _I wonder if that's Clock Town?_

As they got closer, the structure turned into a large, twenty foot tall wall that circled around a huge area. In the center of this large structure was a skyscraper of a clock tower. They approached the east gate and were greeted by a portcullis. Shadow tried to look through it, but the wall itself must have been at least ten feet thick, and there was very little to see on the other side of the short tunnel. "Hello?" he called.

Zelly wasted no time. She shadowed beyond the gate and walked in.

"Wha—Zelly!" Shadow half-scolded in a gravelly voice.

Then he followed suit.

They walked into a cobblestoned area surrounded with buildings both brick and wood, some with thatch roofs. A giant metal bell sat hanging above one building. Another building was shaped like a giant treasure chest. A set of wide stairs led to another open, cobblestoned area.

And it was all completely and utterly empty. The sun was still an hour from setting, and yet no one was outside. There were brambles in the street, and porches that would normally be well swept were covered in dust and debris. Some of these buildings looked like businesses, but they were devoid of any business.

A large BONG sound startled Shadow and he cried out, hiding in the nearest shadow. A melodious, mischievous laugh filled the air. Shadow frowned. The source of the noise was in fact that giant bell. Zelly, who had shadow melded up there while her father looked around, was hopping up and down in amusement at Shadow's reaction to her hitting the bell with a big stick.

Shadow returned to human form and put his hands on his hips, but he only barely managed to keep his own mischievous grin off of his face. "Zelly, come back down here!"

"Okay, Daddy!" she replied, and suddenly looked behind her. A door into the building's upper floor had opened up slightly, a figure looking out at them. Suddenly doors everywhere began to open.

Muddled voices began to discuss things huskily.

"Who rang the bell? It's not time to eat, is it?"

"Are we in danger? Is someone attacking?"

"Has something else gone wrong? What is it?"

Zelly, thoroughly spooked by the sudden appearance of so many strangers, shadowed to her father's side and grabbed his hand for security. Shadow squeezed back automatically.

A woman with straight, red hair appeared through the door by the bell, and she looked down. "Hello there! Do you need assistance?"

"Uh . . ." Shadow moved his mouth, trying to form words. "My daughter and I are passing through and she was naughty and rang the bell." Zelly giggled. "I was wondering if there was a place to stay?"

The woman's eyes widened. "You mean . . . you made it through the gates? You're not infected?"

"Infected?"

"Quickly! I'll open the first floor door. I'll be right there." She disappeared back in through the door.

What a strange question. Infected with what? Was everybody in this town sick? He looked around. Every person waddling out of their houses seemed confused, bumbling about. Their skin was covered with sores. Shadow tightened his grip on Zelly's hand and dragged her to the door the woman had indicated. Within moments, the woman had opened the door and Shadow and Zelly hurried inside.

They were in a lobby. A counter sat on one side, and couches sat near the door for guests. "Is this an inn?" Shadow asked.

The woman nodded. "The Stock Pot Inn, actually! I'm Anju." Now that they were close enough, Shadow examined her features. She had uplifted eyes, like she smiled a lot, a straight but happy seeming mouth. Her red hair was shoulder length and uneven, like it hadn't been trimmed in a while. Pock-mark scars dotted her face and lips, and even her hands and arms showed some marks. She had a slightly curved nose and a delicate chin.

"Are you . . .?" Shadow asked, gripping Zelly's shoulders tightly and unable to look away from the marks on her face.

She grinned bravely. "It's alright. I'm not contagious anymore. It leaves terrible marks, but . . . once it's left your system completely there's no chance of getting it again or giving it to someone else."

Shadow's grip relaxed, slightly. "I see. Sorry."

She shook her head. "Don't be. I'm sorry you ended up in here. We thought for sure we had locked all entrances."

"Ah, about that . . ." he started, then decided against telling her they'd snuck in. _I'm an idiot. A closed gate likely means a bad thing! Duh!_ "So anyway, any chance we could . . . get some supplies? And leave?"

She looked concerned. "I'm afraid that won't be possible. At least until the next rain."

"The next rain? Why?"

"Outside of what I told you, we don't know how the disease spreads. It could be through the air. If it is, there's no point risking your life to leave town at this moment. Townsfolk are wandering about breathing into the air. You don't want to risk getting the infection from them. However, when it rains, all those toxins are washed out of the air, and most people stay inside. It's quite a bit safer."

"Okay," Shadow responded unsatisfactorily. He figured he and Zelly could simply shadow-meld out of the city . . . but that would require that Zelly didn't get playful and unmeld in front of someone infected. "What do we do until then?"

"You'll be safe here. This place is for those of us who have never caught the disease . . . or did and lived to tell the tale." She shrugged her shoulders and clasped her hands self consciously.

 _Jeez, a valley full of ghosts and now this! I remember Link saying Termina was tragic, but not THIS tragic. It's like these people have been forsaken by all of their gods . . ._

Anju smiled again. "I'll take you to your room." Shadow took Zelly's hand and they followed Anju upstairs. A few people peeked out of doors of other rooms, but no one tried to speak to them. "They're afraid you're carriers," she explained. "They'll come around in a few days."

"A few days?" Shadow exclaimed. "I'm sorry . . . I just hope we're not here long . . ."

"Don't worry, I hope the same. For both your sakes."

Shadow couldn't help but think Anju was somehow familiar . . . and then he realized he'd seen someone who looked just like her before—a lady by the same name who lived in Kakariko. Link talked about her sometimes. Apparently she had saved his life once, back when Shadow first awoke after Ganon's defeat. Shadow had been confused and only knew he was supposed to kill Link, so he tried. And failed. Happily. Link had ended up at Anju's . . .

"Here it is!" Anju said as brightly as she could manage, opening a door into a quaint, tidy room. It was nothing much, but it was better than the outdoors Shadow and Zelly had been sleeping in.

Shadow turned after they entered and faced Anju. "Thank you. You didn't have to help us."

She smiled. "Of course I did." She shut the door. Shadow heard her footsteps down the hall as she returned to whatever she'd been doing before they ran into each other.

He shook his head. The resemblance between this Anju and Hyrule's Anju was uncanny, and he couldn't help but think how Sashira had his wife's eyes, and looked extremely like her. _What IS Termina? An alternate world? Why are there people here who look exactly like the people in Hyrule?_

There was a water basin in the room, and as Zelly explored the room singing to herself, Shadow decided to splash his face. He caught his own eyes in the mirror behind the basin and felt more than the cold water shocking his system.

He was from Termina. _Termina_. Who was HE? Who was his double?

The question already had an answer.

Link.

This was why they were so evenly matched, him as Dark Link and Link as the Hero of Time. This is why they shared characteristics, looks, and even some personality traits. And yet . . . they were different, all the same. Shadow was very clearly from Termina, and Link was very clearly from Hyrule. Their heritage was in their bones, their very makeup.

How had Shadow ended up in Hyrule? And why? What had happened to him?

He dried his face just then so he wouldn't have to stare into the mirror and contemplate how he and Link were doubles. His questions could only be answered once he and Zelly reached the coast . . .

* * *

Malon decided riding a wolf was not as comfortable as riding a horse—but it was a lot more fun! Link spent so little time with his paws on the ground that Malon wondered that they weren't flying. With the world covered in darkness as it was, however, she could almost imagine they were running in a sea of dark eternity. If not for the ranch ahead getting closer, she'd believe it.

With a warning grunt, Link latched onto the side of the wall around the ranch and began climbing up, Malon clinging to his neck, trying not to shriek as the ground got further and further away from them.

At the top of the wall, Malon clambered off Link and they tried to understand the chaos.

Belshad had returned, angrier than ever. However, there were slim lines of light on his neck. "That mus' be where ya hit him with light from the axe b'fore!" Malon stated.

Link morphed back to human form, axe in hand, and nodded.

The bulbin army was mostly lying motionless, but a few legions were carrying desperately on. A large hole in the ground sat where the cellar used to be. Malon clenched Link's arm. "The kids', the cellar!" Her hands flew to her mouth as she fell to her knees.

Link slinked an arm around her waist and pulled her up. "Don't lose heart on me now, my love!" He pulled out his hookshot and carried them to the top of the windmill, the last undamaged building. They walked in through a hole in the roof and hurriedly made it to ground level. Malon looked around frantically. Then pointed, "There!"

With Ilia, Talon, and the moblin priest who had helped Malon before standing in front as protection, the children were huddled next to each other in a tiny hollow in the wall. Link and Malon ran to them quickly. Malon grabbed as many of the children as she could possibly fit in her arms and cooed over them.

Link turned to the moblin priest. "Tell your forces to retreat! Take my family and get out of here!"

The priest's face lines deepened. "But the darkness . . . your family will not survive."

Link placed a hand on Malon's shoulder. She looked up, and at Link's gesturing, handed him the Fairy Sword. Link held it in his hand and close his eyes. Suddenly the Fairy Sword began to glow, and it returned to its full glory. In this darkness, it was almost as bright as the sun. "Take this," he said, handing it to Malon. "It should protect all of you. Keep you out of the darkness."

"What about you?" Malon asked. _Not this again._

"I have to destroy that thing! I have to save Shad."

She wanted to tell him no, wanted to say let the monster have the ranch while they all disappeared—but that wasn't something the wife of the Hero of Twilight could say. She nodded, trying to be brave, but her voice caught anyway. "Alrigh'. But don't you die on me!"

Link grinned. "When have I EVER done that?"

Malon shot forward and kissed him.

"I'll find you, my love," Link said when she pulled away, then he morphed into a wolf again, the axe on his back, and galloped toward Belshad, leaving a trail of light.

"Alrigh'!" Malon turned around. "We're headin' out now!"

The priest nodded and ran to mobilize the rest of the moblins. Talon, Ilia, Malon, and the children hurried to the gates. The moblins caught up and gave them bulblins to ride, and soon the entire entourage was on its way away from the ranch.

Belshad noticed when the ranch became quieter, glancing around at the dead moblins around him. Link the Wolf growled at it, hackles raised, fangs bared, saliva dripping from them.

The darkness had encroached past the moblins' safeguards and began enveloping the ranch. Belshad lifted its snout and gave a sickening roar in victory.

 _Not so fast, nerd brain!_ Wolf Link raised his own snout and uttered a deafening howl. The soundwave blasted through the air and hit the darkness overhead, briefly parting it so the blue sky could shine through.

Belshad shrank, in surprise or fear, Link didn't know. Then it turned its gaze to Link, the last remaining Light figure in the entire ranch. Belshad bent low to the ground, parted its jagged mouth, and bellowed.


End file.
